On Feburary 11, 2016, Kip Thorne and his physics team at LIGO announced the first ever detection of gravitational waves - elusive ripples in space-time predicted to exist over 100 years ago by Albert Einstein in his General Theory of Relativity. What the physicists detected with their Laser Interferometer is a gravity wave 'chirp' that is produced when two black holes inspiral and collide with each other. The frequency of the gravity waves of colliding black holes are within the range of frequencies of audible sound waves (100-1000Hz). If you represent the gravity wave with a sound wave, you get a 'chirp' sound. If you want to learn more about the monumental discovery, check out this fantastic article in the NY Times written by my friend Dennis Overbye.
In 2000 I was commissioned to produce and perform a Physics Chanteuse show for Kip Thorne at his 60th birthday bash at Caltech, "Kip Fest" which featured all the great gravity physicists and other famous scientists like Kip's best friend Stephen Hawking. There was a group of us working on the event and GR physicist Scott A. Hughes gave me a computer simulated gravity wave chirp to use in my songs. I used that gravity chirp in three songs - two parodies and one original song. I also edited the back drop videos that are projected behind me when I perform. Most of the scientific visualizations were produced by NCSA/:CA – Potsdam – WashU International Numerical Relativity Group. I think these are the first songs in the Universe to be written using gravitational wave chirps! I They are karaoke style so you can sing and chirp along.
All the science is correct in the songs and it was a lot of fun putting words like "perturbation" and "Einstein-Rosen Bridge" into songs for Kip. The best part of the Kip Fest was that Kip and I became fast and dear friends. I am so happy for him and the LIGO team! Join in the celebration and have fun singing along! Chirp! Chirp!
Black Hole Bird Gravity Wave Chirp Song
Black Holes spinning in the dead of night
Spiraling around, out of sight, until you collide.
We are waiting for your waves to arrive.
Black Holes singing in the silent night
dancing around space-time torques and tides
Until you collide
We are waiting for your song to arrive.
Black holes collide!Black holes collide!
Into the night little black holes collide!
(Chirp interlude- Chirp Along!)
Black Holes spinning in the dead of night
Spiraling around, out of sight
Until you collide.
We are waiting for your waves to arrive.
Black holes collide!Black holes collide!
Into the night little black holes collide!
Black Holes singing in the dead of night
Spiraling around, out of sight
Until you collide.
We are waiting for you song to arrive.
We are waiting for your waves to arrive.
(Chirp! Chirp!)
Black Hole Disco
Gravity Waves Penetrate My Brain Black Hole Colliding Light years Away Gravity Waves Gravity Waves Give me infinite density Naked Singularities Charged and Spinning Groove Me with Gravity! At the Black Hole Disco! You'll never know where you'll go! But it will warp you mind! Playing flippy floppy with your Space and Time! Quantum Wormhole! Hyperspace Tunnel! Put your head into its mouth instantly you will pop out into the Black Hole Disco! You'll never know where you'll go! But it will warp your mind! Gravity Waves!
Gravity Wave Vibrations
A parody of the Beach Boys “Good Vibrations” by Lynda Williams
I, I love the way they radiate
from a hundred million light years away.
I hear the sound of two black holes
as they do their final inspiral
I’m making simulations, gravitational radiation.
I’m making simulations, second order perturbations.
I’m doing simulations, analytical approximations.
I’m making simulations, quasi-normal excitations.
I’m making simulations, gravitational radiation.
I’m making simulations, second order perturbations.
I’m doing simulations, analytical approximations.
I’m making simulations, quasi-normal excitations.
Close my eyes. I see them evolving now.
So slow and smooth into their ringdown.
I can see two black holes merge
and how the real data fits my Zerilli curve.
I’m making simulations, close limit calculations.
I’m making simulations, quantifying excitations.
I’m doing simulations, quasi-normal excitations.
I’m making simulations, gravitational radiation.
This is another song I wrote and performed for Kip.
No gravity chirps but one of my favorite songs!!!
No gravity chirps but one of my favorite songs!!!
Kip Warp
A Parody of Rocky Horror "Time Warp" by Lynda Williams for Kip Thorne.
Science
fact is stranger than fiction
when
you work with Kip.
He'll
warp your logic with matters exotic
and
strip away your cosmic censorship!
Jumpin
into Wormholes!
And
hyperspace tunnels!
Building
an Einstein-Rosen Bridge
with
exotic matter made up of
NEGATIVE
ENERGY!
(chorus)
Let's
do the Time Warp with Kip!
Let's
do the Time Warp with Kip!
You
don't need a space ship!
Or go
faster than light!
To
take a time trip with Kip!
All
you need is Einstein!
You'll
remember your future!
Riding
on a closed time-time curve!
Let's
do the Time Warp with Kip!
Let's
do the Time Warp with Kip!
It's
all so dreamy
But
the vacuum is seething
with a
fluctuating quantum foam.
And if
you are from a civilization
that
is infinitely advanced and very, very quick
you
can pull a wormhole right out of it!
Put
your head into it's mouth
instantly
you will pop out
into
another space and time!
But
you better take care on the other side
not to
commit matricide!
Let's
do the time warp with Kip!
(Chorus)
Well I
was taking a nap in my emedding sheet
when a
mini-wormhole opened up next to me.
I
could see on through to the other side
Kip
was looking back and he was waving Hi!
The
hole exposed my naked singularity
so I
sewed it back up with some Super Strings!
Let's
do the time warp with Kip!
You
don't need a space ship!
Or go
faster than light!
To
take a time trip with Kip!
All
you need is Einstein!
You'll
remember your future!
Riding
on a closed time-time curve!
Let's
do the Time Warp with Kip!
Let's do the Time Warp with Kip!
More Photos from the Kip Fest. I have many more stories to share from that amazing event. Here are a few brief ones. More to come!
Kip Thorne and his beautiful wife Carolee Winstein. They made a sash with badges for all his accomplishments on it because he is such a good boy scout of science.
Kip's thesis adviser and mentor, the great late John Wheeler spoke a the banquet. I had a very interesting experience with Wheeler. The morning after the banquet we all had brunch in the Caltech dining hall. I was lucky to be sat next to Wheeler who was quite old (88) and a bit feeble at this time. Oddly, everyone got up and went on their way but I was staying put next to this physics genius hero. I was hoping to ask him about his work on the Manhattan project. I had been reading his autobiography and was disheartened to learn that he was an advocate for building and using the bomb on Japan. I hoped to respectfully talk with him about that. An assistant asked if I would stay with him until his niece came and picked him up and of course I agreed. I asked him about his niece and he grabbed my hand and leaned in and became physically and emotionally upset and he said to me "I waited on that corner in NYC for my brother to come down the street in the parade but he never came. We had to build it! We had to end the war to save my brother!" He started weeping with shame and regret and I put my arm around him and let him weep on my shoulder. I wept with him. People swooped in and took him away. I had my answer to the question I didn't need to ask.
More Photos from the Kip Fest. I have many more stories to share from that amazing event. Here are a few brief ones. More to come!
Kip Thorne and his beautiful wife Carolee Winstein. They made a sash with badges for all his accomplishments on it because he is such a good boy scout of science.
Kip with the 'family tree' of all his academic "descendants" or children - all his graduate students and their graduate students and so on. I am proud to say that this was my idea and I am also happy to know that this tradition has popular! I didn't make the tree, I just had the idea to do it. It is pretty amazing to see how many lives and careers one person can really impact. Kip was very moved by it, as we all were.
Kip's thesis adviser and mentor, the great late John Wheeler spoke a the banquet. I had a very interesting experience with Wheeler. The morning after the banquet we all had brunch in the Caltech dining hall. I was lucky to be sat next to Wheeler who was quite old (88) and a bit feeble at this time. Oddly, everyone got up and went on their way but I was staying put next to this physics genius hero. I was hoping to ask him about his work on the Manhattan project. I had been reading his autobiography and was disheartened to learn that he was an advocate for building and using the bomb on Japan. I hoped to respectfully talk with him about that. An assistant asked if I would stay with him until his niece came and picked him up and of course I agreed. I asked him about his niece and he grabbed my hand and leaned in and became physically and emotionally upset and he said to me "I waited on that corner in NYC for my brother to come down the street in the parade but he never came. We had to build it! We had to end the war to save my brother!" He started weeping with shame and regret and I put my arm around him and let him weep on my shoulder. I wept with him. People swooped in and took him away. I had my answer to the question I didn't need to ask.
Big party at Kip and Carolee's house Friday night. What a party! More stories to come...
Getting cozy with Kip, Carolee, KC Cole, Elender Wall and someone else. Elender is a good friend I met in college. She is an opera singer, physicist and belly dancer. She has danced many times for Stephen Hawking at one of his favorite restaurants in Pasadena.
Years later...back at Caltech for another show!
Here is that story: Stephen Hawking and the Physics Showgirl
Kip is a super star of massive black hole proportions!
Lovon!
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