“The Physics of 'Angels & Demons' and Beyond”

Dan Brown’s influence knows no bounds. The opening scene of the new Angels & Demons movie is shot at CERN laboratory, just outside of Geneva. In the film, members of the underground Illuminati collective steal a small amount of antimatter, which they use to try to blow up the Vatican. On Tuesday 26, Columbia University physics professor Michael Tuts (who is also the U.S. operations program manager for the ATLAS experiment at CERN) will discuss what really goes on at his lab, as well as the existence of tiny black holes and alternate dimensions. Here’s the CliffNotes version:

“Our experiment is real, but the way it’s covered in Angels & Demons is not. Our lab exists, antimatter exists, and we create antimatter—but you can’t make an antimatter bomb. I’ll discuss all of that, but I’ll also get into some of the other interesting things we’re doing at CERN. For example, I’ll talk about the possibility of creating mini black holes in our particle accelerator—that is, if certain theories proved plausible. If we did that, it would be quite fantastic! But these aren’t planet-eating black holes, like what you see in Star Trek. We might not even be able to see them. String theory also suggests that we live in a world that isn’t just three space dimensions, that there are, perhaps, six more. I’ll try to discuss particle physics in laymen’s terms—hopefully people will beat me up or stop me with questions if they don’t get it.”—Sophie Gore Browne

GEEK OUT! “The Physics of Angels & Demons and Beyond…Antimatter Bombs, Mini Black Holes, and Extra Dimensions”: Picnic Market & Café, 2665 Broadway between 101st and 102nd Sts (212-851-7809, cafescience.columbia.edu). Tue 26 at 7pm, $10.

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