Einstein’s gravitational waves detected

LIGO scientists have observed gravitational waves for the first time.

100 years ago, Einstein theorised gravitational waves would come from black hole or neutron star collisions, though he never thought it possible to observe them. Scientists built the LIGO, Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory, which uses 4 km perpendicular pipes to measure the change in the length of travel for the lasers. Compression in one direction while elongation in the other are signs of the waves.

LIGO: The First Observation of Gravitational Waves

MIT explains LIGO

This is an exciting new development and opens up a new field of study.


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