100 Years After Einstein
Waves made humongous headlines on February 11th, and no, it had nothing to do with Kanye West and his new album. Instead, physicists have made a ground-breaking discovery that can possibly alter the way space is studied: scientists have confirmed the existence of gravitational waves once described in Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity. Einstein proposed this idea approximately 100 years ago (technically 98, but you get the point. It was a long time ago).
Before one can describe how scientists have come to this conclusion, what did Einstein theorize? As simply described by American astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, Einstein believed that gravity “is the distortion in the fabric of space and time". (1) Within these distortions, caused by accelerating masses, “ripples” will be released at the speed of light. The “ripples” are what he described as gravitational waves. Recently, these “ripples” were detected – even a sound was heard.
As the result of two black holes coalescing into one, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) facilities in Louisiana and Washington State have measured the ripples. Based on these measurements, this newly formed black hole is approximately 1.3 billion light years away from Earth. (2) Within the LIGO facilities, the ripples were measured by examining the distance in between two mirrors dangling on wires. These apparatus have been mechanically engineered and insulated to detect the smallest and weakest of vibrations – even ones 1.3 billion light years away. The gravitational waves that reached Earth were extremely weak, the mirrors were confirmed to have moved a fraction of a diameter of an atomic nucleus. (3) Scientists have even released an audio sample from the merging of the black holes. Although it is not very loud, it is still hotter than your mixtape.
The international team of physicists had arrived at a similar conclusion on September 14th, 2015, but now, it has been confirmed. Scientists worldwide are marvelling at this discovery, but what can this teach us? As a matter of fact, it could provide further information regarding the Big Bang. It will also help physicists understand the fundamental laws of the universe and how it is shaped by mass. Maybe, in years to come, scientists will finally find a way to launch us into the sun.
(1) Neil deGrasse Tyson in an interview with Anthony Cumia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoOPEPVYAnU
(3) Reference the Neil deGrasse Tyson interview.
Photo credit: student.societyforscience.org