Kip Stephen Thorne is a well-known theoretical physicist who is widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost specialists on gravitational physics and astrophysics. This erudite scientist, who was born to academician parents, has always had a strong interest in science. Kip earned a doctorate from Princeton University after completing his graduate studies at Caltech. His supervisor was John Wheeler. Stephen subsequently went on to pursue an academic career at Caltech, where he worked with some of the world’s top astrophysics researchers. He was the youngest professor ever appointed to Caltech University, according to his outstanding academic credentials. He was a good guide and mentor to students who went on to become pioneers in the field of astrophysics throughout his career. He collaborated with Ulvi Yurtsever and Mike Morris to demonstrate the existence of Lorentzian wormholes that connect two different points in space time, paving the way for more investigation into the possibility that quantum fields have negative energy. He also experimented with red supergiant stars, predicting their existence with fellow researcher Anna Zytkow. Thorne is currently working on a project based on his mentor John Wheeler’s quantum foam hypothesis. Continue reading to learn more about his life and work.
Childhood and Adolescence
Kip Thorne was born to D. Wynne Thorne and Alison Thorne on June 1, 1940, in Logan, Cache County, Utah. Both of his parents were professors at ‘Utah State University,’ with his father teaching soil chemistry and his mother teaching economics.
From a young age, Thorne showed a tremendous aptitude for science. He assisted his mother in building a model of the solar system when he was just eight years old.
Kip continued his education at the prestigious ‘Caltech Institute of Technology,’ earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1962. He had a tremendous talent for original ideas and a passion for study during his tenure at Caltech.
He received his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1965 after submitting work on ‘Geometrodynamics of Cylindrical Systems.’ During his tenure at Princeton, he was supervised by John Wheeler, the prominent revivalist.
Kip Thorne’s Career
Kip Thorne was hired as an assistant professor at the California Institute of Technology in 1967. During this time, Einstein continued to work on his astrophysics theories with some of the world’s top scientists.
After three years as an associate professor at Caltech, he was promoted to professor of theoretical physics in 1970, and eleven years later to the prestigious title of “William R. Kenan Jr. Professor.”
Kip began one of his most ambitious and significant undertakings in 1984 when he founded the LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory), which was tasked with demonstrating the existence of gravitational waves.
He was also a key figure in the field of Black Hole Cosmology, and his most important contribution to the study of black holes was the Hoop Conjecture, which describes how an implosion star might convert into a black hole under particular conditions.
Thorne’s most ambitious and well-known endeavor too far has involved wormholes and time travel. Sung-Won Kim, Mike Morris, and Ulvi Yurtsever were among the top astrophysics researchers he collaborated with. His theories demonstrated that time travel is theoretically possible.
Thorne is still considered one of the most influential astrophysicists of the modern age, and the Caltech Institute of Technology named him the ‘Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics’ in 1991 in honor of his contributions throughout his academic career.
He opted to quit his position at Caltech in 2009 in order to work with filmmakers who needed his help, and he has been a Professor Emeritus ever since. He is well known for his collaboration with Christopher Nolan on the film Interstellar.
Kip’s Major Projects
Kip Thorne’s studies on wormholes are still his most well-known work, owing to the wide range of possibilities it has opened up, including the seemingly unbelievable possibility of time travel. He used testing to produce a scientific proof for time travel and the existence of wormholes, inventing the Lorentzian wormhole theory in the process.
Achievements and Awards
In 1996, Kip Thorne was awarded the Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize. The ‘American Physical Society awards the prize to scientists who have made significant contributions to physics.
He received the Albert Einstein Medal from the Albert Einstein Society in Bern in 2009. The prize is given to scientists who have made “scientific discoveries, works, or publications relating to Albert Einstein.”
Personal History and Legacy
Kip has had two marriages. He married Linda Jean Peterson for the first time in 1960, and the pair had two children.
Thorne divorced his first wife in 1977 and married for the second time seven years later to Carolee Joyce Winstein, a professor at the University of South Carolina.
Estimated Net worth
Kip is one of the wealthiest physicists and one of the most well-known. Kip Thorne’s net worth is estimated to be $1.5 million, according to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.