Check the events in English, French and Chinese in chronological order here or browse by title in the Events menu.
On the Origin of Time: My journey with Stephen Hawking into the Big Bang
screening of recording from the Sofia Science Festival’s programme I 16:30 – 17:30, Hall OCEAN I grade 8-12, adults
Perhaps the biggest question Stephen Hawking tried to answer in his extraordinary career was how the universe could have created conditions so perfectly hospitable to life. Pondering this mystery led him to study the big bang origin, but his early work ran into a crisis when the math predicted many big bangs producing lifeless universes.
Holed up in the theoretical physics department at Cambridge, Hawking and Thomas Hertog worked shoulder to shoulder for twenty years, to develop a new theory of the cosmos that could account for the emergence of life. Venturing far back in time, they were startled to find a deeper level of evolution in which physical laws transform and simplify until particles, forces, and even time itself fades away. This led to a revolutionary idea: The laws of physics are not set in stone but are born and co-evolve as the universe they govern takes shape.
On the Origins of Time takes you on a quest to understand questions bigger than our universe. It offers a radical new Darwinian perspective on the birth of the universe that can profoundly transform the way we think about our place in the order of the cosmos.
Don’t forget to get a copy of Thomas Hertog’s book from the Festival bookstore.
In English.
In partnership with Ciela.
Understanding the wild boar paradox
Recording from the live event at the Sofia Science Festival 2024 І 18:00 – 19:00 І Hall OCEAN І students grade 8-12, adults
The Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986 had a major impact on the forest ecosystem in Central Europe. After the accident, the consumption of mushrooms was discouraged because of the high radioactive contamination, and the meat of wild animals was also severely affected for several years. While the contamination of deer and roe deer decreased over time as expected, the measured levels of radioactivity in the meat of wild boar remained surprisingly high. Find out more about this paradox from Austrian professor of applied radiochemistry Georg Steinhauser.
This event is presented in partnership with the Austrian Embassy and is dedicated to the 120th anniversary of the American theoretical physicist Robert Oppenheimer.
In English.
How Likely is an Asteroid to Ruin Your Day?
Screening of recording from the Sofia Science Festival І 19:30 – 20:30 І Hall OCEAN І students 8-12 grade, adults
As individuals we should not worry about a large asteroid impact because chances are so low in our lifetimes. However, as a civilization we MUST do something. Devastating impacts have happened (e.g., dinosaur extinction) and will happen again if we do nothing. Fortunately, there is considerable international collaboration on defending Earth against asteroid impacts. Explore the answers to these and many other questions with Dr. Humberto Campins, an international expert on asteroids, especially those that can threaten Earth with an impact, and NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission member.
In English.
In partnership with the Embassy of the USA.
Climate Argaunauts
En mer Noire comme dans tous les océans, des profileurs automatisés surveillent les évolutions brusques et progressives de l’environnement marin
Avez-vous déjà entendu parler du réseau de profileurs automatisés Argo? Il s’agit de flotteurs qui dérivent, plongent et remontent à la surface de la mer pour transmettre, par satellite, les données précieuses qu’ils collectent régulièrement. Température, salinité, oxygène, acidité, chlorophylle et autres indicateurs de l’état de l’environnement marin sont ainsi mesurés de la surface jusqu’aux abysses et ce partout dans le monde, dont en mer Noire depuis deux décennies. Pourquoi? Parce que, comme vous le savez sans doute déjà, le changement climatique et la santé des écosystèmes marins méritent une surveillance constante, notamment à cause des processus rapides ou à plus long terme qui les gouvernent.
Yann-Hervé De Roeck, Euro-Argo ERIC, l’institution qui coordonne la flotte Argo en Europe
Violeta Slabakova, Institut d’océanologie, Académie bulgare des sciences
Avec le soutien de l’Ambassade de France / l’Institut français de Bulgarie