9:45am - 6pm British Summer Time (GMT+1)
Thursday 7 July 2022
First blue sky thinking workshop: The arrow of time
Join us online for the first of three annual one-day workshops in which we will bring together a network of scientists and philosophers from around the world working on foundational problems relating to the arrow of time in theoretical physics (with a focus in particular on quantum mechanics and the nature of entanglement and decoherence in open quantum systems and the quantum-classical transition), philosophy and biology.
The talks are meant to be deliberately speculative and focus on current problems and open issues in the field. This workshop will be held online and will encourage debate amongst delegates.
Free
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This is an online event only. Please register via the Eventbrite booking page. You will be emailed a link to join the workshop.
Speakers
- Professor Jim Al-Khalili
- Professor Sean Carroll
- Professor Paul Davies
- Professor Alison Fernandes
- Professor Michael Levin
- Professor Huw Price
- Dr Katie Robertson
- Professor Carlo Rovelli
- Professor Joan Vaccaro
- Professor Vlatko Vedral.
Schedule
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
9:45am - 10am | Welcome and introduction Jim Al-Khalili |
10am - 10:30am | Causation and the open future; Russell, Eddington and Ramsey Huw Price |
10:30am - 11am | What can we learn about time from the violation of time reversal symmetry? Joan Vaccaro |
11am - 11:30am | How statistical mechanical probabilities emerge from entanglement Katie Robertson |
11:30am -12 noon | Discussion Led by Simon Saunders |
| Watch the first session video | |
12 noon - 1pm | Lunch |
1pm - 1:30pm | Five quantum experiments with time Vlatko Vedral |
1:30pm - 2pm | Naturalist metaphysics and the direction of time Alison Fernandes |
2pm - 2.30pm | Why do we remember the past (and not the future)? The physical root of the epistemic time asymmetry (no, it’s not quantum theory) Carlo Rovelli |
2:30pm - 3pm | Discussion Led by Andrea Rocco |
| Watch the second session video | |
3pm - 3:30pm | Break |
3:30pm - 4pm | Evolutionary scaling of intelligence via bioelectrical circuits Michael Levin |
4pm - 4:30pm | Gravitational entropy and a generalised 2nd law of thermodynamics Paul Davies |
4:30pm - 5pm | Quantum dynamical emergence of the laws of physics Sean Carroll |
5pm - 5:30pm | Discussion Led by Clarice Aiello |
5:30pm - 6pm | Summary, open questions and close Led by Jim Al-Khalili |
| Watch the third session video | |