Hi everyone,
Here is a CNN article about possible discovery of Gravitational waves.
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/10/us/gravitational-waves-announcement-feat/?iid=ob_homepage_deskrecommended_pool&iref=obnetwork***************
On Thursday, scientists are expected to declare they have detected gravitational waves. Not only will such a discovery support a prediction that's essential to Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, but it will also add to our understanding of the universe, said Szabolcs Marka, a physics professor at Columbia University.
"The discovery of gravitational waves is, I think, the most important breakthrough in modern science," said Marka, leader of the Columbia Experimental Gravity Group, a member of LIGO, the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory.
"We will be able to study not just Einstein's general relativity -- we'll be able to find objects we only imagined would exist.
LIGO is described in a statement as"two identical detectors carefully constructed to detect incredibly tiny vibrations from passing gravitational waves," one located in Louisiana, the other in Washington State.
Marka said to think of it as a "cosmic microphone," an incredibly precise listening device that can detect distortions in space-time, the fabric of the universe. It's so precise it can detect changes the size of a soccer ball in the entire Milky Way galaxy.
Indeed, black holes are a holy grail of the gravitational wave concept. To date, we've been able only to see their aftereffects -- black holes themselves remain a conjecture. Discovery of gravitational waves would confirm their existence.
Ironically, Einstein -- who suggested some of these concepts -- didn't think gravitational waves would be discovered.
"He thought gravitational waves are a beautiful construct, but they are so small nobody would ever be able to actually measure it," said Marka.
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Cheers.
Sriram
