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Science & Cocktails begins in Amsterdam at Paradiso with string theorist and science superstar Robbert Dijkgraaf in an event where science lectures meet music performances and fine cocktail craftsmanship! An event that goes deep into string theory, black holes and the laws of Nature with virtual hosts and dry-ice cocktails.
What is string theory? What happens to stuff that fall inside a black hole? What are the fundamental building blocks of space and time? Did Nature have any choice in picking the fundamental laws of physics? What is the role of mathematics in physics?
For decades, since the discovery of quantum mechanics and Einstein’s theory of relativity, scientists have been trying to combine the two perspectives of the world into one single unified theory. These two theories describe most of reality, ranging from the largest structures in the Universe to the smallest particles. Yet, when these two theories meet there are serious limitations to our understanding, such as what space and time are made of, the inside of a black hole or the Big Bang.
One of the results of these decades of constant search was string theory: where the strangeness of quantum reality and the weirdness of relativity theory come together and create something even more puzzling - a world with extra dimensions. String theory says that there is only one fundamental object in the universe: the string. Much like the strings in a guitar give rise to different sounds when you pluck them, the strings of string theory give rise to the different constituents of the observed reality when you make them vibrate at different energies. Is everything in the world made of strings? If so, what is a black hole?
String theory in its many incarnations provides a theoretical framework to answer some of the deepest questions, often with surprising results. At the same time, it raises some disturbing new questions, making painfully clear how little we understand of our Universe. And it couldn’t be better than having one the most amazing string theorists in the whole wide world to explain this to you!

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