Leaping Into a Programmed Universe, Richard G. Bower, University of Durham

Imagine walking down the streets of Durham, England and coming upon a cathedral—not just any ordinary cathedral, but one of the oldest in the world, with images depicting the history of the Universe and the evolution of human understanding of the Universe projected upon its walls. Dr. Richard G. Bower, professor at Durham University, was a member of the team who made this awe-inspiring piece of artwork a reality. But how did they do it? On today's episode, Dr. Bower explains how he and his team have programmed a digital universe that nearly mirrors what we observe of the actual Universe. With the use of the laws of physics in terms of mathematical equations and the theory of the Big Bang, and by teaching the computer program to understand how stars, galaxies, and even black holes might be formed, they've not only created a digital universe, but embedded a camera inside that universe to see what it would be like to live inside of it and look out through the lens of a telescope. This provides an unprecedented way to compare observations of the Universe to a universe programmed to follow the scientific laws by which we currently understand it. Tune in for a fascinating conversation and visit https://community.dur.ac.uk/r.g.bower/WordPressSite/blog/wordpress/ for more.