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6.16.2016
Computer simulation of two black holes merging into one
For the second time this year, physicists at the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Waves Observatory (LIGO) are giddy with excitement. They’ve just confirmed the second detection of gravitational waves, ripples in the fabric of spacetime proposed by Albert Einstein a century ago. It seems we’ve officially entered the age of gravitational wave astronomy. The discovery was announced this afternoon at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in San Diego, CA, and has been accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters.
First, a shift in the gravitational force indicates a heavy presence that doesn't emit light and can't readily be detected. Second, anything that is new in the scientific community, like realizing the collision of 2 black holes, will set the scientific world a twitter. Third, the collision of black holes proves, again, that black holes do exist (as if further proof of black holes were needed) and here might be a good example to study the effects of black holes. Black holes are one of the squirreliest objects in the sky that might lead to further research in time travel, etc. Hey, black holes are squirrelly.Can you guys explain the relavence for us cretins?
Can you guys explain the relavence for us cretins?
Can you guys explain the relavence for us cretins?
It's one step closer to discovering where gravity comes from...and perhaps what created the universe.
Perhaps we will find God floating around somewhere just creatin' ****.
Can you guys explain the relavence for us cretins?
First, a shift in the gravitational force indicates a heavy presence that doesn't emit light and can't readily be detected.
Second, anything that is new in the scientific community, like realizing the collision of 2 black holes, will set the scientific world a twitter. Third, the collision of black holes proves, again, that black holes do exist (as if further proof of black holes were needed) and here might be a good example to study the effects of black holes. Black holes are one of the squirreliest objects in the sky that might lead to further research in time travel, etc. Hey, black holes are squirrelly.
It's one step closer to discovering where gravity comes from...and perhaps what created the universe.
I would ignore the answers given thus far, or at least take them with a grain of salt.
The correct answer is multi-pronged:
1.) Gravitational waves are a fundamental prediction of Einstein's theory of General Relativity. When you have objects spinning in particular ways (in technical terms, any system with a non-zero quadrupole moment), you will generate gravitational waves. This year's discoveries were the final crucial tests of General Relativity, and it was by a landslide the hardest test.
2.) Gravitational waves will provide a robust, totally new metric to look into the universe. It's a totally new way of observing the universe; there's tons of systems we could never hope to see, but if we get better and better at detecting gravitational waves, we'll have a whole new perspective into the universe by looking at what creates gravitational waves, rather than exclusively what creates light (which was previously our only window into the universe).
2'.) This will beignoresary if we want to probe into what happened near the Big Bang. Once scientists get very good at detecting gravitational waves and improve the technology, there will plausibly be a time (maybe 30 years, maybe 50) where we can have a reasonably pristine vantage point into the Big Bang. No light or particles survive that period of time, but gravity waves would have survived (because they interact so weakly and infrequently). So if we want to know about what was going on within the first second of the Big Bang, so far as we know, this is the unique way we can explore that.
3.) Gravitational waves provide an interesting new probe into whether or not General Relativity is true. They will become more precise, and possible deviations of GR could be discovered, which would be interesting.
4.) On theoretical grounds, the existence of gravitational waves --combined with our knowledge of quantum physics-- pretty much tells us without a doubt that gravitons are the correct perspective, even if we can't see a single graviton quanta right now. An important feature of quantum mechanics is that all radiation (i.e. gravitational waves are a form of radiation) must be quantized. I won't go into much on that topic, but it's pretty much a universally accepted position right now in fundamental physics.
Although a gravitational wave is essentially a shift of the gravitational force, it has nothing necessarily to do with black holes. The technical requirement is that the source of the wave needs to be spinning in specific ways. In this case, it means you need to have two spinning planets orbiting around each other, and if you want the signal to be strong, they should be orbiting very quickly.
The gravitational waves that we have detected, however, have been from black holes that are of order 10 times the mass of our sun falling into each other.
It's great indirect evidence of black holes, yes, which adds to other indirect evidence of black holes.
This is vague, but more or less right on the money.
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