A Brief History of (the End) of Time
The end is near. It seems the end is ALWAYS near. And the end is always being brought about by hadron-crazy particle physicists, or predicted by ancient Mayans, or the result of betrayal by our trusted friend, the Sun, erupting in a temper tantrum of a solar superstorm.
Will time itself end later this year? What's science and what's science fiction? And what is, sometimes both at the same time? How do astronomers think the universe might end? The closing chapters in the Big Bang Theory used to be either an infinitely long slide towards absolute zero or a "Big Crunch". Why are some cosmologists now talking about "The Big Rip"?
On Saturday, May 19, Professor Jaymie Matthews, an astrophysicist with the Department of Physics and Astronomy at UBC will answer some of these questions at a free, public lecture presented by the Canada-Wide Science Fair 2012 and the departments of Physics and Engineering at the University of Prince Edward Island. The lecture will take place in the Alex H. MacKinnon Lecture Theatre (242) at Don and Marion McDougall Hall from 7:30 to 8:30 pm, followed by a question and answer period.
If the world ends before then, the talk is cancelled. No refunds. (No charge for admission, either.)
About Dr. Jaymie Matthews
Jaymie Matthews is an astro-paparazzo who unveils the hidden lifestyles of stars by eavesdropping on 'the music of the spheres.' Dr. Matthews is the Mission Scientist leading the Canadian Space Agency's MOST (Microvariability & Oscillations of Stars) project, and a Professor of Astrophysics in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at the University of British Columbia. He and his team are trying to revise the biography of our Sun-past and future-by studying its neighbours in our Galactic city, the Milky Way.
Dr. Matthews is a world-leading expert in the fields of stellar seismology, exoplanetary science, and astronomical time series analysis. He was born in Chatham, Ontario, and obtained his BSc degree at the University of Toronto, and his MSc and PhD degrees at the University of Western Ontario.
In 2006, Dr. Matthews was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada, and in 2012, he received a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.
