Fridays

10:00 - 11:30 am

Online

7/22, 7/29, 8/5, 8/12, & 8/19

Five Sessions 

This course is offered online via the easy-to-use Zoom program.

The speed of light is not just the speed of light. According to Einstein’s theory of relativity, it is the ultimate speed limit for all material objects. But does this mean that it is also the ultimate speed limit for information? After a historical review, we show how Einstein’s theory implies that if we could send information faster than light, we could also send information backward in time. The course ends with a discussion of “entanglement,” a phenomenon in which quantum particles seem not to care about breaking any information speed limit, as long as they are not caught in the act.

Bill Wootters is a retired professor of physics at Williams College, with a PhD from the University of Texas at Austin. His research has primarily been in quantum information theory and the foundations of quantum theory. He has taught two other OLLI courses in recent years, on gravity and quantum mechanics.

Previous | Next