Kip Thorne

Kip Stephen Thorne (born June 1, 1940) is an American theoretical physicist, known for his prolific contributions in the field of gravitation physics and astrophysics. He is the current Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics at Caltech and one of the world?s leading experts on the astrophysical implications of Einstein?s general theory of relativity.

Publications

Thorne has written and edited books on topics in gravitational theory and high-energy astrophysics. In 1973, he co-authored the textbook Gravitation with Charles Misner and John Wheeler; most of the present generation of scientists have learned general relativity theory from this text. In 1994, he published Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy, a landmark book for non-scientists for which he received numerous awards. This book has been published in six languages, and editions in Chinese, Italian, Czech, and Polish are in press. Thorne has also published more than 150 articles in scholarly journals.

Related Topics:
Gravitational theory - High-energy astrophysics - Charles Misner - John Wheeler - 1994 - Black Holes and Time Warps

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Thorne is also known for his ability to convey the excitement and significance of discoveries in gravitation and astrophysics to both professional and lay audiences. In 1999, Dr. Thorne made some speculations on what the 21st century will find as the answers to the following questions:

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• Did warpage and the quantum together create the universe?
• Is there a "dark side of the universe" populated by objects such as black holes?
• Can we observe the birth of the universe and its dark side using radiation made from space-time warpage, or so-called "gravitational waves"?
• Will 21st century technology reveal quantum behavior in the realm of human-size objects?

His presentations on subjects such as black holes, gravitational radiation, relativity, time travel, and worm holes have been included in PBS shows in the U.S. and in the United Kingdom on the BBC.

Related Topics:
Time travel - Worm holes

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Thorne's work has appeared in magazines and encyclopedias such as:

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• Scientific American,
• McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science and Technology, and
• Collier's Encyclopedia among many others.