So, it’s time for our very 1st Science News Feed! Let’s begin!
Introduction to Gravitational Waves:
Have you ever heard of gravitation waves? A gravitational wave is ‘a ripple in the fabric of space and time’. To simplify that, imagine a giant rubber grid that extends to no ends. Anything with mass on top of the rubber would distort the grid, or bend it. And anytime the object with mass accelerates – like if it speeds up, slows down, or starts changing directions – it’s making a gravitational wave. The more mass an object had, the greater and larger distortions it would cause. If I started spinning in circles, I would be making a gravitational wave too. It would be a very, very, very minor one though, considering how huge the fabric of space and time is. Here’s another example, on a much larger scale. The Sun causes such a huge distortion that it is impossible for an object with a smaller mass to move in a straight line, and instead moves in circles. That’s how orbits work!
Why are Gravitational Waves Important?
Science is less about the things in this world, and more about why they occur. Albert Einstein hinted that something such as gravitational waves existed, so this concept isn’t new. What is new, however, is the recent proof of the fact that gravitational waves exist. This proof is such a big deal, that the three men who discovered it, are right now the proud owners of the Nobel Prize for Physics!
Project LIGO:
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, often abbreviated as LIGO is the project Rainer Weiss, Kip Thorne, and Barry Barish created. Here’s how it worked: There are 2 laboratories that work simultaneously. LIGO is constructed of 2 arms, each 4 kilometers long, and they shoot lasers of purest light to reflect of a 40 kilogram mirror. If no gravitational waves are present, then the lasers will meet up so that the light waves will cancel out. However, with the presence of gravitational waves, the length light needs to travel will shrink and stretch, so that the light waves will not cancel out. As we notice this, we’ll know that a gravitational wave is present. And thus, LIGO has detected these amazing phenomenon!
Why is LIGO’s Discovery So Significant?
To put it simply, by studying gravitational waves, we .can learn more about the origins of the universe.
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*** Featured Image: NSF’s LIGO Has Detected Gravitational Waves – by Charly W. Karl – at Flickr