Through Time and Space
Kip Thorne introduces mass audiences to the theories of warped space-time in Interstellar.
Making the complexities of astrophysics understandable and exciting to a lay audience requires a certain skill. Theoretical physicist Kip Thorne excels at conveying both the excitement and significance of discoveries in the fields of astrophysics and gravitational physics. Thorne has enjoyed a long career in physics full of discovery and study. Most recently, his vision for a film depicting ‘the warped side of the Universe’ became the basis of director Christopher Nolan’s 2014 visionary dystopian film, Interstellar. While speaking to the science journal Nature, Thorne revealed the end result that appeared in theaters was very different from the original idea. “Chris and Jonah changed our story almost completely, but preserved the warped space-time and splendidly fulfilled our vision of a science-fiction movie with real science woven deeply in its fabric.”
Family Traits Thorne, born into a family of academics, has always understood the importance of education and the continuous pursuit of knowledge. A native of Utah, Thorne’s mother and father both taught at Utah State University, in the fields of economy and soil chemistry, respectively, and two of his siblings also went on to become professors.
California Days Having earned his B.S. degree from California Institute of Technology in 1962, Thorne went on to earn his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1965. He returned to Caltech to serve first as an associate professor from 1967 to 1970, when he became a professor of theoretical physics, serving from 1970 to 1981. In 1981, Thorne became the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor until becoming the Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics in 1991. He served in this capacity until his retirement in 2009. He now holds the title of Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, Emeritus.
“Chris and Jonah changed our story almost completely, but preserved the warped space-time and splendidly fulfilled our vision of a science-fiction movie with real science woven deeply in its fabric”
In Good Company Throughout his long and illustrious career, Thorne has been in good company, working with more of the greatest scientific minds of the twenty-first century. Numbering among his friends are Stephen Hawking and Carl Sagan, two of the most widely known names in science. In the film The Theory of Everything based on Hawking’s life and work, Thorne is portrayed by actor Enzo Cilenti.
Enzo Cilenti as Kip Thorne
Stellar Minds Thorne’s most recent foray into making science relatable to the masses is his work with lauded director Christopher Nolan on the 2014 film Interstellar, starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, and Michael Caine. The original film that Thorne had in mind was almost completely different from the end product of Interstellar. The first draft of the film was conceived by Thorne with friend and film producer Lynda Obst, which included black holes, wormholes, and higher dimensions. It also initially attracted Steven Spielberg before the Nolan brothers re-imagined the project. The science-fiction film that resulted is still based on known science, and was inspired by Thorne’s work concerning black holes, relativity, time travel, and wormholes. The subject of black holes is something that Thorne has long worked on, and since the 1980s he has worked on wormholes, or hypothetical ‘tunnels’ in space that reach distant parts of the Universe. This theory forms the basis for Interstellar, in which a small group of astronauts are searching for a new home for humankind by traversing a wormhole to another, distant region of space. “In [Interstellar],” Thorne tells Nature, “nothing violates well-established physical laws and all the wild speculations spring from science, not just the fertile mind of a screenwriter.”
Accuracy Matters During the creation of the screenplay for Interstellar, Thorne met with Nolan and his brother, Jonah, a film writer, every few weeks to brainstorm with them, and to ensure that the visual effects were as accurate as possible while still being relatable and understandable to the film’s audience. For that reason, some of the visual effects were altered slightly from factual science to make what the audience was seeing more understandable to moviegoers without scientific knowledge.
“In [Interstellar], nothing violates well-established physical laws and all the wild speculations spring from science, not just the fertile mind of a screenwriter.”
Questions from the Audience These changes did incite some criticism from the scientific community, such as a lack of asymmetry in the black hole. The alterations, made to make the film more understandable, prompted Thorne to write his latest book, The Science of Interstellar. The book serves as a tie-in with the film, and explains the scientific concepts featured on the screen.
Getting Down to Brass Tacks The creation of a film that is cinematically innovative and inspiring while still remaining grounded largely in real science is no small feat. Yet the question remains, how does a film that attempts to blend real science with science-fiction rate with moviegoing audiences? To answer that, one might look at the easiest numbers to understand regarding film success: money. With a production budget of $165,000,000 the film has so far earned a worldwide gross of over $675,000,000.
The People’s Champion To adapt a quote from Winston Churchill, the world of science, especially challenging sciences like theoretical physics, can be a mystery wrapped in an enigma contained within a puzzle. In other words, the average layperson with little or no scientific knowledge would struggle with the complex concepts that theoretical physicists deal with every day. With scientists and professors such as Kip Thorne, however, the masses have an ally to explain in everyday terms the complex theories that Thorne works with. For more information on Thorne’s work, there is also his first book published for lay audiences, Black Holes and Time Warps. Since Thorne’s retirement in 2009, he has sought to write and make films. Interstellar is his most recent collaboration, but hopefully, for the benefit of everyone without a scientific background, for those looking to understand more of the universe, it will not be his last.
To adapt a quote from Winston Churchill, the world of science can be a mystery wrapped in an enigma within a puzzle.