October 20, 2010
Dr. Gregory Laughlin (University of California, Santa Cruz)
The long-term fate of the planets in our Solar System has intrigued astronomers and mathematicians for over 300 years. Although the planetary orbits are often held up as a model of clockwork regularity, the Solar System is in truth an extremely complex and chaotic system. Dr. Laughlin explains how recent advances in computing technology have finally given us a solution to the problem. He also shows how the delicate gravitational interplay between the planets can be interpreted as a true "music of the spheres", and auditions the unsettling compositions that can result in the event that the planetary orbits go haywire in the extremely distant future.
