Gravitational waves discovered on 100th anniversary of Einstiens theory of relitivity

Discussion in 'Science' started by Fallen, Feb 11, 2016.

  1. Fallen

    Fallen Well-Known Member

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    Many years ago, Einstein theorized the existence of gravitational waves but noted that they would likely be impossible to observe. Today there has been a major scientific breakthrough. I'm sure Einstein is smiling in his grave.

    ‘We proved Einstein right!’ 100 years on, gravitational waves confirmed in breakthrough research

    [​IMG]

    Scientists at Washington’s National Science Foundation and Moscow State University have confirmed the discovery of Albert Einstein’s gravitational waves. The breakthrough, possibly the biggest in physics in a century, could be the key to the new understanding of the universe.
    Recent rumors of the success in detecting gravitational waves, or as some scientists put it "very weak spacetime wiggles which propagate at the speed of light" were officially confirmed Thursday.

    "Ladies and gentlemen! We have detected gravitational waves, we did it!," LIGO laboratory executive director David Reitze announced in Washington.

    "These gravitational waves were produced by two colliding black holes, [that] came together, merged and formed a single black hole about 1.3 billion years ago," Reitze said.

    2 Blackholes merging
    [video=youtube;I_88S8DWbcU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_88S8DWbcU&feature=youtu.be[/video]

    These ripples in the fabric of spacetime are one of the most important variables in Einstein's theory of relativity and it took astronomers decades to detect them, although they were pretty sure that gravitational waves existed.

    The discovery has been made with the use of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) - a system of two detectors constructed to spot tiny vibrations from passing gravitational waves. Funded by the National Science Foundation, LIGO's identical detectors are located in Livingston, Louisiana, and Hanford, Washington.

    The observatories, which are "the most precise measuring device ever built," recorded a signal on September 14, 2015, "nearly simultaneously," and the signal "had a very specific characteristic," the laboratories' director said.

    Sound of 2 Blackholes colliding
    [video=youtube;QyDcTbR-kEA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyDcTbR-kEA&feature=youtu.be[/video]

    "As time went forward, the frequency went up," he explained, adding that it took scientists months of careful checking and analysis to confirm that what had been discovered was exactly gravitational waves.

    Each of the two black holes before merging had about 30 times the mass of the Sun, were 150 kilometers (93 miles) in diameter and accelerated to about half the speed of light. The detected collision also proved that the merging of binary black holes does exist in the universe.

    "Let's say this: The first discovery of gravitational waves is a Nobel Prize-winning venture," said physicist Bruce Allen of the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Hannover, Germany.

    But the prize will be most possibly given not to theorists, but those who are behind the mechanism that confirmed the existence of the waves, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences Pavel Ivanov told RT.


    Russian scientists have massively contributed to both of the advances, Ivanov explained, mentioning Soviet scientist Yakov Zeldovich and a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Braginsky, who has been closely working with Kip Thorne, the American astrophysicist at the forefront of the discovery.

    The idea to look for the waves was suggested and published in science magazines by Soviet physicists Mikhail Gertsenshtein and Vladislav Pustovoit in 1962, and then developed further by academic Zeldovich and his followers, who explored the theory of gravitational waves. Braginsky and his teams have been working on developing detectors for LIGO.

    According to Einstein's theory, published in 1916, the universe is made up of a "fabric of spacetime": massive accelerating objects in the universe are believed to bend this fabric, causing ripples known as gravitational waves. The colliding of two black holes or merging of two pulsars are among the presumable causes of such waves' formation.

    "The theory describes the geometry of space and time. When a gravitational wave propagates, it changes [this] geometry," Ivanov told RT, adding that "in general relativity and all modern studies of gravity the gravitational field is considered as something that is similar to the electromagnetic field."


    "The discovery of gravitational waves could open a new window in our universe because before we studied it only using electromagnetic [knowledge], and now we can do it in almost all wavebands, from radio waves to gamma rays," Ivanov said.

    The ability to analyze the information carried on gravitational waves could potentially provide more insight into the Big Bang and other violent events in the history of the Universe, and help to explore if other universes exist, what is inside Black Holes and even potentially pave the way for time travel.

    Although Einstein predicted that gravity travels in waves a century ago, detecting gravitational waves was not an easy task due to the fact that their effect is minuscule and easily confused with random noise.

    "Everything causes noise: a car passing by, a plane in the sky, or even tiny movements of the Earth's crust. Detecting a signal amid all this noise is extremely difficult, although of course there are methods, both mathematical and technological - and it costs a lot of money," Ivanov told RT.

    The discovery might lead to the creation of a new chapter in physics – quantum gravity, scientists believe. It will bring together the knowledge of Einstein's theory and wave mechanics.

    --------------------​

    Gravitational waves for dummies: Key facts about Einstein's unsolved mystery


    Scientists are buzzing (again!) about gravitational waves and what a big deal they are. Wait! Don’t be embarrassed if it all leaves you confused and you just can’t share their excitement. Here's your guide to gravitational waves, short and simple as ABC.
    So here's what happened: researchers at Montana State University have an update from the LIGO observatory on their progress in detecting gravitational waves. It is one of the biggest mysteries of the past 100 years that we inherited from Albert Einstein.


    Astrophysicists made a similar announcement last March and have been keeping more than just fellow scientists on their toes since then.

    It is obviously a complicated thing – otherwise, it wouldn’t have taken so long to explore, right? So it’s OK not to know what everyone is so excited about.

    No worries, we're here to explain!

    1. Einstein first mentioned gravitational waves in 1916 in his General Theory of Relativity.

    Scientists have been racking their brains over it since then.

    2. The universe is like a huge trampoline. Einstein thought of it a space-time fabric. Gravitational waves are like ripples in that fabric.(click the image to see full comic video)

    [​IMG]

    Imagine dropping a melon versus a ping pong ball on that fabric. Which would 'sink' deeper? Exactly! The same happens in the universe: lighter objects create less of a ripple.

    3. Gravitational waves were 'born' during the Big Bang about 13.8 billion years ago! Apparently, we still feel them, but they are minuscule.

    This is why detecting gravitational waves are important – they may hold the answer to the origins of the universe.

    4. These gravitation waves are created when two or more huge objects bump into each other.

    [​IMG]

    For example, two black holes colliding would theoretically cause a massive ripple.

    5. 'They do exist!' Or not. We have never detected gravitational waves directly and this is the main task.

    [​IMG]

    Detecting gravitational waves is simpler in theory than in practice. Space is so huge that the further ripples go the harder it is to catch them.

    6. One of the ways to hunt for the waves is to measure stretches in space-time (that fabric from #2, remember?).

    [​IMG]

    For that, American scientists use a huge laser system, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO).

    Its detectors - which look like laser 'rulers' - are meant to spot tiny vibrations from passing gravitational waves.

    7. LIGO reaches as far as up to 225 million light years away. It is so sensitive that it catches changes in the distance as small as 1/10,000 of the diameter of a proton.

    And even LIGO makes mistakes! In 2010, it was fooled by a fake signal... from scientists. However, six years ago it wasn't as advanced as now, so let's not count that one.

    8. We almost caught the gravity waves in 2014, but not quite. It was a false alarm, again.

    BICEP2, an observatory in Antarctica, right near the South Pole, thought it had netted the evidence for gravitational waves from the dawn of our universe, but no.

    If you still do not quite get what is happening, it's OK. First, it's a VERY short guide to a mystery as old as our universe. Second, scientists have been looking into it for 100 years since Einstein (so, add the time he spent, too!) and they are not there yet.
     
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  2. Brett Nortje

    Brett Nortje Well-Known Member

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    Obviously, these waves simply get hotter and colder. heat would make them less dense, and then they would be released from the rest of matter, as matter attracts other matter, or they would get cooler and then get denser and find themselves heavier, yes?
     
  3. waltky

    waltky Well-Known Member

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    Granny says it's dem gravity waves dat makes yer butt sag when ya get old...
    :grandma:
    Ripple effect: scientists await word on gravitational waves
    11 Feb.`16 - A century ago, Albert Einstein hypothesized the existence of gravitational waves, small ripples in space and time that dash across the universe at the speed of light.
    See also:

    Einstein's gravitational waves detected in landmark discovery
    11 Feb.`16 - Scientists for the first time have detected gravitational waves, ripples in space and time hypothesized by Albert Einstein a century ago, in a landmark discovery announced on Thursday that opens a new window for studying the cosmos.
     
  4. 10A

    10A Chief Deplorable Past Donor

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    This is great news, not only was Einstein right but it's also a good indicator that gravity is quantized.
     
  5. Fallen

    Fallen Well-Known Member

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    The discovery of this makes time travel possible
     
  6. cerberus

    cerberus Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    'Ladies and gentlemen . . . (pause for effect) . . . we have discovered . . . (wait for it!) . . . gravitational waves - we did it! (lots of yays and clapping of hands). And if that doesn't ensure at least another 20 years of research funding to go back 1 billion light years to find out how the universe was born ('born' :roll: ) nothing will!' One day they'll come out with something so ridiculous even the BBC won't believe it! :mrgreen:

    - - - Updated - - -

    Obviously!!
     
  7. Moi621

    Moi621 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    And maybe we have the paradox of light.
    A Photon or/and a wave.
    A Graviton or/and a wave https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graviton

    Wave :dual: Particle

    Just Say "No!" to Curved Space.
    How can nothing be "curved"


    Moi :oldman:

    r > g


    View attachment 40964
    If Not Now, When?
    If Not Us, Who?
     
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  8. Gorn Captain

    Gorn Captain Banned

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    No...but it may make "warp drive" possible.

    If we can figure out how to "create gravitational waves" artificially.
     
  9. Moi621

    Moi621 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I prefer to amplify, and reflect the gravity waves that are out there.
    My gravitational drive will reflect the Earth's gravity of my ship's mass back on the Earth itself and then some
    via gravitational amplifiers. Do NOT stand under a gravitational drive ship when it is lifting. Get squashed like a bug. Once beyond the Earth/Moon binary system via reflector one might switch to an amplification of the attraction to a mass out there.
    Would it it be faster to Mars to reflect the Sun's gravity or focus on amplifying Mars' gravitational attraction.
    I will need more "spice" (Dune) to get it right. Mine not "theirs". :weed: :alcoholic: :weed:


    Moi :oldman:

    r > g


    No :flagcanada:
     
  10. robot

    robot Active Member

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    I wonder what it would be like to be in orbit around those two black holes as they merged? I assume there would be no other mass around so they would be radiating nothing except these gravitational waves. Like would they cause stress on the spaceship? Or change the spaceship into a star and ask the same question.
     
  11. AboveAlpha

    AboveAlpha Well-Known Member

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    Einstein was right but if anything this rules out the existence of a Graviton.

    If Gravity was a Quantum Particle/Wave Form driven event then objects of different mass WOULD NOT FALL AT THE SAME TIME!!!

    Take Electromagnetism.....2 times the charge to have 2 times the effect.

    If a Graviton existed then it would be the same and thus objects would fall at a rate different from one anothers mass.

    AboveAlpha
     
  12. wgabrie

    wgabrie Well-Known Member Donor

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    Okay, so they discovered Gravitational Waves and made history.

    But now what??? :confusion:
     
  13. 10A

    10A Chief Deplorable Past Donor

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    No, they wouldn't cause stress on the spaceship. That's the interesting thing about gravitational waves, only strain occurs (displacement), not stress (forces). Of course, whether they experience gravitational forces depends on how close they are and the size of the black holes.
     
  14. robot

    robot Active Member

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    This answers many questions http://gizmodo.com/your-questions-about-gravitational-waves-answered-1758269933
    For example
     
  15. cerberus

    cerberus Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    :roll: It's obviously time to update my signature.
     
  16. MrNick

    MrNick Banned

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    Time dilation is already possible - it's fact....
     
  17. wgabrie

    wgabrie Well-Known Member Donor

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    But we're really hoping for backwards time travel. Then we can go back in time and attend Stephen Hawking's party for time travelers. Plus some other stuff.

    Alas it never comes true. Hawking's party remained empty.
     
  18. cerberus

    cerberus Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    In the field of cosmology it can be anything you want it to be, and limited only by your wildest fantasies. I mean if it's good enough for the space boffins, it ought to be good enough for you! :mrgreen:
     
  19. Cosmo

    Cosmo Well-Known Member

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    There are different types of cosmology;which one/s are you referring to?
     
  20. cerberus

    cerberus Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    You know - space, the final frontier? I didn't know there were any others. [​IMG] But I'm sure you're gonna tell me there are!! But please keep it short because when it comes to such nonsense I have a very short attention spa . . . :yawn: ( [​IMG] )
     
  21. Moi621

    Moi621 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    if it's good enough for the space boffins, it ought to be good enough for you!
    Never!

    it can be anything you want it to be, and limited only by your wildest fantasies.
    And I can probably get a grant to design a biased experiment to prove, not disprove - my wildest fantasy.
    As long as such a grant is not Anti Politik to the times, like maybe global warming is a normal cycle.


    I Do Not Jump On Band Wagons!
    ie. Anti Dietary Cholesterol was wrong
    It's the bread, not the butter! :rant:


    Moi :oldman:
    It is hard living ahead of "them".


    r > g


    No Canada-1.jpg
    Across an immense, unguarded, ethereal border, Canadians, cool and unsympathetic,
    regard our America with envious eyes and slowly and surely draw their plans against us.

    And I imagine those claiming to be on the South Coast of England will be wishing to migrate soon, eh?
    Restore Wessex independency !
    And Build A Wall!
    Don't be :flagcanada: out of your nation :rant:
     
  22. cerberus

    cerberus Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Thanks for your input. :mrgreen:
     
  23. Doberman1

    Doberman1 New Member

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    Before they start using all the fancy words such as warp and space-time, the fellas who claim a discovery should demonstrate precisely how they hoped to detect a periodic expansion and contraction of space in the direction of the black hole merger, as opposed to no such simultaneous periodicity in the perpendicular direction? They may have detected some blue or red shift, but would that be an indicator of space contracting, and why?
     
  24. AboveAlpha

    AboveAlpha Well-Known Member

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    The Doppler Effect is specific to Distance of objects moving toward or away.

    Gravitational Ripples in Space-Time CHANGE DISTANCE.

    This is how they know.

    AboveAlpha
     
  25. wgabrie

    wgabrie Well-Known Member Donor

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    Wow! Gravitational waves change distance. Now that I know that it opens a whole new level of understanding for me.
     

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