Cal Tech researcher in town to share his theories on Einstein.

Byline: Greg Bolt The Register-Guard

Thanks to Albert Einstein, physics will never be dull.

But Einstein's dazzling world of black holes and space-time can be complex, and that's why it's always handy to have a physicist around who can translate things into easily digestible words. And that's what noted theoretician Kip Thorne will do in a free public talk tonight.

Thorne, a physicist at the California Institute of Technology, knows a few things about Einstein. As one of the world's foremost researchers on gravity and astrophysics, he has extended Einstein's ideas about general relativity deep into the cosmos, where black holes, neutron stars and supernovae snap the fabric of space-time like a flag in a March wind.

Tonight, Thorne will discuss "Einstein's Legacy in the Modern World: From Black Holes to Quantum Cryptography." The talk begins at 7 p.m. in Room 100 of Willamette Hall on the University of Oregon campus.

Thorne's speech is aimed at people who simply have an interest in Einstein and the ways in which his ideas continue to shape modern life. It's the first in a series of events at the UO marking the World Year of Physics, which celebrates the 100th anniversary of Einstein's stunning publication in 1905 of some of his most revolutionary theories.

Thorne, the author of the book "Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy," will link Einstein's work to the later development of lasers, the global positioning system, thermonuclear power and quantum cryptography. But the real fun might be when Thorne gets to the role Einstein played in what a UO colleague calls the "flying circus" of physics: black holes, wormholes, singularities, gravitational waves and the shape of the universe.

That colleague, UO math- ematician Jim Isenberg, said those are the kind of things that can easily capture the imagination of anyone, not just scientists.

"It's amazing how much interest there is in this stuff," Isenberg said. "People just love it. I'm always amazed and gratified by how much interest there is in black holes, the big bang, the nature of time and what kind of things we might see in the future."

One of those things almost certainly will be gravity waves, which are being sought right now with special detectors in Washington and Louisiana through a project Thorne helped develop. The sophisticated laser detectors haven't yet spotted the infinitesimal quivers in space-time set off by cataclysmic explosions thousands or millions of light years away, but few doubt they will.

Einstein predicted gravity waves as part of his theory of general relativity, and finding them would virtually confirm much of his vision of the universe. It's that vision that Thorne will offer a glimpse of.

He'll also take part in a weekend conference for gravity researchers, the Pacific Coast Gravity Meeting, where the top scientists on the West Coast will present papers on their latest work. Thorne and Isenberg have organized the annual meetings since they began them 21 years ago.

The UO has two other events scheduled as part of the World Year of Physics. On April 30, UO physics instructor Stan Micklavzina will bring his Science Circus to the South Eugene High School auditorium for an Einstein-themed show.

Micklavzina, also known as "Dr. Stan the Science Man," helped organize the World Year of Physics and for this show will team up with Portland's Rhys Thomas of Jugglemania. Doors open at 3 p.m.; a $5 donation is suggested to help Ridgeline Montessori School, which is sponsoring the event.

Then on May 19, UO physicist Jim Brau will discuss recent developments in particle physics and cosmology.

Brau is a leader in the International Linear Collider project, one of the biggest undertakings in physics history and the next frontier in particle physics.