WHAT ARE GRAVITATIONAL WAVES?
They are ripples in the fabric of space and time produced by some of the most violent events in the universe, such as merging black holes and exploding stars.
They wash over the earth all the time, but due to technological limitations our instruments have not been sensitive enough to detect them until recent years.
WHO CAME UP WITH THE IDEA OF GRAVITATIONAL WAVES?
Albert Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves in 1916 in his general theory of relativity.
Einstein's mathematics showed that massive accelerating objects, such as black holes orbiting each other, would disrupt space and time in such a way that waves of distorted space would radiate from the source.
HOW DID LASER INTERFEROMETER GRAVITATIONAL-WAVE OBSERVATORY (LIGO) DETECT THE WAVES?
LIGO currently consists of two interferometers, each with two 4km long arms arranged in the shape of an L. These instruments act as antennae to detect gravitational waves.
WHY DOES THIS MATTER?
Gravitational waves might not help us understand processes on earth, but they will help us understand processes that occur in outer space. This could help astronomers improve our understanding of space, time, matter, energy, and their interactions.
(Source: Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory)
