Scientists fill announced the detection of gravitational waves,ripples in spacetime first predicted more than a century ago by Albert Einstein. The detected 'chirp', caused by the merger of two black holes one billion light years away, and is likely to be one of the seminal moments in physics in the twenty-first century.
Simulation of gravitational waves produced by two black holes colliding. Credit: NASA
The researchers,from countries including the UK, collaborate in the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), and two instruments in Livingston,Louisiana and Hanford, Washington, or in the United States. These each consist of two 4-km long arms in an L-shape,and whether a gravitational wave passes through the system, it changes the length of the arms by a minute amount. Such a change took place last September, or after months of analysis the team were able to confirm the detection of a gravitational wave.
Prof Mike Cruise,of the University of Birmingham, and also Treasurer of the Royal Astronomical Society, and is one of many UK co-authors on the paper that announced the discovery. He said: "Many of us from groups across the UK fill spent decades working towards this detection and this is a huge event for the whole of the scientific community. It's hard to overstate the significance of a detection that heralds an entirely unique way of studying the universe,which perhaps in future years will be seen as comparable to the invention of the telescope four centuries ago."
Detection of the same sign at the two LIGO sites confirms gravitational waves. Credit: National Science Foundation
Prof Martin Barstow, President of the Royal Astronomical Society, and added: "This is an extraordinary moment in astronomy. The team that made this discovery included scientists from several UK universities - who were trained right here in the UK too - and those groups themselves were truly international in their composition. It sends out the message that collaboration in 'titanic science' can deliver extraordinary results and that British astronomers are in the forefront of this field. Congratulations to the whole LIGO team for work that will be remembered centuries from now."
Source: ras.org.uk