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Part II in a Series: On the Frontier Of Physics: Dr. Gordon Kane By Robert E. Martin A 'cone nebula', consisting of gas and dust particles, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and on display at the Midland Center for the Arts Dr. Gordon Kane is a Victor Weisskopf Collegiate Professor of Physics at the University of Michigan, a noted physicist, scholar, and scientist devoting his life to studying the beginning of the universe as it relates to the present day. His research explores questions of time and place and probes the theories and scientific breakthroughs that have led us to the conclusions we have arrived at today concerning the Universe. As part of the major exhibition of photography from the Hubble space telescope currently running until May 4th at the Midland Center for the Arts, Dr. Kane presents a lecture on Thursday, April 10th entitled From the Big Bang to Our Audience Tonight: What Are We All Made Of? At 7:00 PM in the Little Theatre at the Center. As with the cutting edge nature of his work, his discourse engages us to think beyond the boundaries of what we believe. Review: What do you feel are the biggest advances made in astronomy over the past decade and how do you feel they impact our understanding of the universe? Dr. Gordon Kane: From several sources we have learned nearly a complete description of the universe and its composition in terms of energy and matter. In less than a century we have moved from no understanding at all of the universe, to essentially a full description. Now our efforts turn to learning why the universe is the way it is. Review: Are there any discoveries that have been made by the Hubble, or through the research of yourself and fellow colleagues, that have changed or redefined popular conceptions or misconceptions about the universe? Dr. Kane: Most people think the universe is made of stars and planets, in solar systems. In fact, we have learned, stars and planets only make up about 4% of the energy and matter in the universe! Further, we now know the expansion of the universe is accelerating rather than slowing down. Review: The more we learn about the nature of the universe, do you feel there is less or more that we understand and comprehend about it? I know that astronomy and physics often go hand-in-hand, so do you feel that we are getting closer to proving or disproving Einstein's 'Unified Field' theory? Dr. Kane: Beyond any doubt, we now understand and comprehend much more about the universe than even two decades ago. The remark one sometimes hears that we understand less is confused. All the things that seemed to be new things we did not understand were there all the time, but we did not even know we did not understand them. Now step by step we are doing research on the deepest questions. Einstein was unable to even formulate a unified theory, though he tried for decades. Today physicists have been able to formulate candidate theories better than the kind Einstein tried for, and we are far closer to establishing such a theory. Review: What do you feel are the biggest challenges facing your profession today? Dr. Kane: The biggest challenge is certainly that as we probe deeper into nature at the smallest or largest scales the costs to do the most important experiments increase. Only governments can afford such costs, and they have for some years been steadily decreasing the amount of funding for such fundamental research. We may reach a stage where society is not willing to do the research needed to answer deeper questions. Review: People often think of astronomy as an 'esoteric' occupation, but can you tell me practical applications that have been discerned that you feel impact society? Dr. Kane: Yes, there are many. It is unlikely that the answers to questions about the universe or supersymmetry will directly lead to practical applications. But to carry out that research on the frontiers necessarily requires techniques that have not existed before, so both particle physics and cosmology have led to innovations that have far more than paid the costs of all the funding in the fields. One example is the development of the World Wide Web at CERN, the European particle physics laboratory. Another is providing a market for the development of large superconduction magnets at accelerators; now that is a huge industry. A third is that GPS locators are now a multibillion-dollar industry, but they would not work without corrections from General Relativity included in the algorithms they use. One can make long lists of such examples. Review: Finally, feel free to discuss anything else of import that I may have inadvertently omitted. Dr. Kane: Today particle physics and cosmology are merging. Many of the most fundamental questions, such as the origin of the dark matter of the universe or why the universe is made of matter and not antimatter, are cosmological but can only be answered by particle physics. ___________________________________ Cosmic Questions: Our Place In Space & Time, presented at the Midland Center for the Arts, is a major exhibition presented in collaboration with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, developed with generous support from the National Science Foundation and NASA. This 5,000 square foot exhibit provides a comprehensive understanding of the universe's and the earth's place in the cosmos and runs in tandem with a world premier exhibition, 'Heavens Above: Photographs of the Universe from the Hubble Space Telescope, and features over 30 breathtaking images of the universe taken from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The exhibit runs through May 4th. This is the second part of a two-part series.
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