A team of scientists have made the first direct observation of gravitational waves, proving that Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity was correct.
The team, led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Caltech, said they have made the first detection of the waves using an instrument called the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO). The scientists say this is the first time that anyone has observed two massive black holes colliding.
How did scientists detect #gravitationalwaves from colliding black holes? Explainer from MIT News: http://mitsha.re/Yb0yR Image: SXS
Posted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on Thursday, February 11, 2016
Albert Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves — ripples in the fabric of space-time that are set off by extremely violent, cosmic cataclysms in the early universe. Now for the first time, scientists in the LIGO Scientific Collaboration — with a prominent role played by researchers at MIT and Caltech — have directly observed the ripples of gravitational waves in an instrument on Earth. In so doing, they have again dramatically confirmed Einstein’s theory of general relativity and opened up a new way in which to view the universe.
The scientists have also decoded the gravitational wave signal and determined its source. According to their calculations, the gravitational wave is the product of a collision between two massive black holes, 1.3 billion light years away — a remarkably extreme event that has not been observed until now. Once the researchers obtained a gravitational signal, they converted it into audio waves and listened to the sound of two black holes spiraling together, and then merging into a larger single black hole.
“We’re actually hearing them go thump in the night,” said Matthew Evans, an assistant professor of physics at MIT. “We’re getting a signal which arrives at Earth, and we can put it on a speaker, and we can hear these black holes go, ‘Whoop.’ There’s a very visceral connection to this observation. You’re really listening to these things which before were somehow fantastic.”
Researchers made the first direct observation on September 14th, 2015 at 5:51 a.m. EDT using the twin LIGO interferometers, located in Livingston, Lousisiana, and Hanford, Washington.
The new results are published in the journal Physical Review Letters.
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