Kip Thorne on Black Holes Gravitational Waves and Interstellar with Christopher Nolan

Overview

In this interview, physicist Kip Thorne reflects on the history and science of black holes, gravitational waves, and the cinematic collaborations that brought them to life in Interstellar. From Schwarzschild's solution to the horizon by Oppenheimer and Snyder, to Penrose proofs and the dawn of LIGO, the discussion traces how theory, experiment, and visualization converge to reveal the cosmos.

Key Threads

Thorne discusses the evolution of black hole physics, the birth of gravitational-wave astronomy, the role of computation and numerical relativity, and the ongoing quest for a quantum theory of gravity. The conversation also ventures into the visualization work with Christopher Nolan and the possibility of wormholes, exotic matter, and time travel in a scientifically grounded framework.

Overview

The dialogue with Kip Thorne traverses the arc from early intuition about extremely compact objects to the modern era of gravitational-wave astronomy. It highlights the historical trajectory from John Mitchell and Laplace’s ideas to Schwarzschild’s exact solution and the subsequent dynamical collapse studies by Oppenheimer and Snyder. The conversation then moves to Roger Penrose’s topological methods, Einstein’s initial skepticism, and the decades-long effort to understand horizons and singularities within general relativity.

Thorne reflects on the LIGO project, the leadership transitions from a troika to a single director, and the crucial role of cross-institutional collaboration between Caltech, MIT, and international partners. He explains how quantum measurement ideas and numerical relativity became essential tools, enabling the first detections and the birth of a new observational discipline. The talk also explores the Interstellar visualization effort, the collaboration with Christopher Nolan, and how computer simulations informed cinematic realism about black holes and wormholes.

Topics Covered

• Historical roots of black holes and horizons
• LIGO’s development and the road to detection
• Numerical relativity and black hole mergers
• Quantum gravity, exotic matter, and wormholes
• Interstellar visual science and artistic collaboration
• Future prospects in primordial gravitational waves and cosmology