HMC Physics Colloquium

Tuesdays at 16:30 in Shanahan Center for Teaching and Learning, Room B460

Jonathan L. Feng

University of California at Irvine

Black Holes and Extra Dimensions

Dec. 7, 2004

Of the four known forces -- gravity, electromagnetism, and the weak and strong forces -- gravity is by far the weakest. The weakness of gravity may not be an intrinsic property, however, but may result from the dilution of gravity in extra spatial dimensions. Diverse experiments, ranging from tabletop probes of Newtonian gravity to km-scale cosmic ray detectors, are now putting this possibility to the test. I will give an overview of extra dimensions with an emphasis on one of its most tantalizing predictions --- the production of microscopic black holes in high energy particle collisions.