Hawking on 1D, Chernobyl fires, psychedelic science and more

By Tushna Commissariat

It’s not often that physics, or indeed a physicist, has much in common with pop music or exceedingly popular boy bands. But earlier this week, at an event at the Sydney Opera House titled “An Evening with Stephen Hawking, with Lucy Hawking and Paul Davies”, an audience member asked Hawking (who appeared in holographic form) “What do you think is the cosmological effect of Zayn Malik leaving One Direction?” Watch the video above to see what Hawking said to comfort the distraught fan and how theoretical physics truly may have all the answers.

On a slightly more sobering note, a large forest fire that set off in close proximity to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant caused worry, putting the Ukrainian National Guard on high alert earlier this week as it rapidly spread, before it was finally brought under control the next day. Agencies were worried as the fire extended into the  “exclusion zone” that surrounds the site. Take a look at the live video reports from the site on the RT.com website, where they talk about the danger of contaminated trees and plants catching fire and re-releasing nuclear material into the air.

Elsewhere on the web, we came across artist Fabian Oefner, who brings together spectacular colours and physics in his works. A recent story on the World Science Festival website Rethink Science caught our eye, with an image of Oefner’s latest work titled “Black Hole”, which the artist says was inspired by Jackson Pollock. Take a look at the post and watch Oefner’s 2013 TED talk to see how he creates his surreal art.

And for some weekend reading, take a look at how two amateur astronomers launched a model of a Star Wars “X-wing” craft into the stratosphere and see what Royal Society president Paul Nurse would do if he were prime minister of the UK.