Black Holes

What are black holes, why are physicists so sure they exist, and how did we come to know about them? Can we know, or at least imagine, what happens inside a black hole? The science of black holes has long inspired science fiction writers, but might science fiction help us understand science fact? We discuss black holes, philosophy, and the long-standing and productive relationship between science and sci-fi.

Speakers

**Stephen Baxter**
Author of Xeelee: Vengeance, Obelisk, the Long Earth series with Terry Prachett, and the Time Odyssey series with Arthur C. Clarke

**Amelie Saintonge**
Associate Professor of Astrophysics, UCL

**Karim Thébault**
Senior Lecturer in Philosophy of Science, University of Bristol

Chair
**Jonathan Birch**
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, LSE

Supported by the British Society for the Philosophy of Science

Recorded on 21 November 2018 at the LSE