A Phenomenal Scientific Achievement

[jkeny]

The ability to measure gravitational waves was announced today. This is as big a advance in science as Galileo first telescope - it will open up new ways of measuring that are so precise it is able to measure a change of 1/1000 of the diameter of a proton.

The measurement that the LIGO facility recorded was from the merging of two black holes 1.3 billion years ago which caused gravitational waves that reached earth on Sep 2015. These gravitational waves were predicted by Einstein's theory of Relativity but have never been capable of being measured. They distort space time as they pass through the earth & this very small distortion is measured by LIGO

A video of the announcement & explanation - jump to 5:00 in https://youtu.be/_582rU6neLc
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[HiFiFan]

It is very cool. I am in Pune, India at the moment and there was an IndIGO Consortium (Indian Initiative in Gravitational-wave Observations) at the Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune last night. Nice dinner and great excitement and celebration on the announcement. There is a proposal to build a LIGO- like detector in India, which can greatly enhance the capabilities of this network.

I actually work with a number of guys that helped designed and build LIGO a number of years back.

[nige2000]

Its sound Jim but not as we know it

Wow kinda like a moon landing
Funny the news isn't more mainstream

The posible discovery's are exciting

[jkeny]

It is very cool. I am in Pune, India at the moment and there was an IndIGO Consortium (Indian Initiative in Gravitational-wave Observations) at the Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune last night. Nice dinner and great excitement and celebration on the announcement. There is a proposal to build a LIGO- like detector in India, which can greatly enhance the capabilities of this network.

I actually work with a number of guys that helped designed and build LIGO a number of years back.

Very cool, HiFi
Yes, there are only 2 LIGO detection centres, at the moment - plans for more throughout the world will greatly enhance the capabilities of the detection system, particularly in triangulating the direction from which the gravitational wave is originating.

The mechanisms for stabilising the detectors from environmental vibrations might have some use in audio - if you have half a billion to spend :)

[Seán]

It's great news

[sima66]

And people still question why I built 3/4" tick PC box with 20kg of brass around ?!