PORTALS TO A NEW REALITY

A Radical Rethinking of the Universe with Quantum Physicist Vlatko Vedral. Modern physics currently finds itself in the same situation as the 1890s – right before Planck, Einstein and Bohr blew the roof off Newtonian physics. For the last century, physicists have been following the paths set out by the same two theories – quantum mechanics and general relativity – despite the two being fundamentally in conflict. Quantum physicist Vlatko Vedral believes we are on the brink of a new revolution, and the time has finally arrived to rewrite our understanding of the universe. In his new book, Portals to a New Reality, Vedral argues that quantum information theory has opened up radical new avenues, giving us a series of extraordinary experiments that could upend physics, laying bare the elements of our theories that are particularly problematic, such as the widespread belief that nothing truly exists unless it is observed. For now, these ideas take the form of five fascinating thought experiments, but nothing, save inertia and a lack of ambition, stands in the way. The question now is where they might lead . . . This event takes place downstairs in the Tusk Room, The Walrus Pub, Brighton. Unfortunately there is no wheelchair access at this venue.