LIGO detected gravitational waves at last!

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Profile Raistmer
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Message 1764090 - Posted: 11 Feb 2016, 16:40:33 UTC
Last modified: 11 Feb 2016, 17:29:38 UTC

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Message 1764097 - Posted: 11 Feb 2016, 17:16:21 UTC

A confirmation that Einstein had it right after all. This coupled with the recent announcement concerning the 'changeable state' of neutrons could be the first real clues as to the nature of Dark Matter and Dark Energy.

"Sour Grapes make a bitter Whine." <(0)>
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Message 1764098 - Posted: 11 Feb 2016, 17:20:34 UTC - in response to Message 1764090.  

YES truly a great discovery!
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Message 1764115 - Posted: 11 Feb 2016, 18:21:55 UTC

I had been starting to wonder if I would live long enough to see this day and sure enough, I have!

To live long enough to see yet another validation of Einstein just makes my day!

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Message 1764131 - Posted: 11 Feb 2016, 19:13:19 UTC

The experimental waveforms coincided almost exactly with the numerical simulations made using Einstein's field equations. This means that the equations are still valid at a great distance and not only locally. This is a very important part of this discovery.
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Message 1764179 - Posted: 11 Feb 2016, 23:40:55 UTC - in response to Message 1764131.  

The experimental waveforms coincided almost exactly with the numerical simulations made using Einstein's field equations. This means that the equations are still valid at a great distance and not only locally. This is a very important part of this discovery.
Tullio

Yes it is. Perhaps that means that the laws of physics were fixed at T=0. Not necessarily the constants we observe today, but the laws.
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Message 1764194 - Posted: 12 Feb 2016, 0:44:39 UTC - in response to Message 1764179.  

Perhaps that means that the laws of physics were fixed at T=0

Interesting point
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Message 1764246 - Posted: 12 Feb 2016, 6:14:27 UTC

And we now have the beginning of a whole new wavelength 'window' through which to view the Universe.

"Sour Grapes make a bitter Whine." <(0)>
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Message 1764365 - Posted: 12 Feb 2016, 16:05:01 UTC - in response to Message 1764098.  
Last modified: 12 Feb 2016, 16:06:12 UTC

YES truly a great discovery!


+100! Just printed out the article, have some lecture for tonight then. Thanx Raistmer. I hope this will shed a new light on the existence of the graviton as well.
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Message 1764366 - Posted: 12 Feb 2016, 16:05:07 UTC
Last modified: 12 Feb 2016, 16:10:02 UTC

A really remarkable triumph of persistence, ingenuity and precision! It'll be interesting to see what they can do, eventually, with a network of these gravitational wave detectors, around the world, and eventually in space. With two near-simultaneous detections about 2000 miles apart, they could only say that the merging black holes were in the southern celestial hemisphere.
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Message 1764385 - Posted: 12 Feb 2016, 16:51:03 UTC

Since mass-less gravitons, at extreme energy levels also propagate at light speed, this does not leave much room for the possibility of FTL travel.

Steve
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Message 1764401 - Posted: 12 Feb 2016, 18:04:54 UTC - in response to Message 1764366.  

A really remarkable triumph of persistence, ingenuity and precision! It'll be interesting to see what they can do, eventually, with a network of these gravitational wave detectors, around the world, and eventually in space. With two near-simultaneous detections about 2000 miles apart, they could only say that the merging black holes were in the southern celestial hemisphere.

Gravitational wave detectors in space is already underway.
LISA Pathfinder will test technology for gravitational-wave observatories in space.
http://sci.esa.int/lisa-pathfinder/57366-esa-congratulations-on-gravitational-wave-discovery/
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Message 1764437 - Posted: 12 Feb 2016, 19:55:47 UTC - in response to Message 1764097.  
Last modified: 12 Feb 2016, 19:56:28 UTC

This coupled with the recent announcement concerning the 'changeable state' of neutrons could be the first real clues as to the nature of Dark Matter and Dark Energy.

Sadly I haven't kept up with this... Maybe a pointer or suggestion on we're to find out more?
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Message 1764441 - Posted: 12 Feb 2016, 20:07:13 UTC - in response to Message 1764437.  

Probably he meant neutrinos, not neutrons, which do not change state.
Tullio
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Message 1764447 - Posted: 12 Feb 2016, 20:46:09 UTC - in response to Message 1764401.  
Last modified: 12 Feb 2016, 20:46:25 UTC

Gravitational wave detectors in space is already underway.
LISA Pathfinder will test technology for gravitational-wave observatories in space.

Not really, AFAIK this is a proof of concept test, Lisa Pathfinder is not looking for GW.
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Message 1764450 - Posted: 12 Feb 2016, 20:54:59 UTC - in response to Message 1764366.  
Last modified: 12 Feb 2016, 20:57:53 UTC

If true that there were a verified collision of two black holes that were actually detected then it would be more remarkable if they could declare there is no such thing as gravitational waves. I say this because we are 100% sure that mass warps space.

I always thought that any LIGO -type apparatus on Earth would not have the isolation nor the sensitivity to detect a true gravitational wave --especially from a collision a billion light years away. I would more easily believe that they all detected the Taiwan earthquake or a passing semi truck.

I think also that when we get the interferometers out in space that we will detect such waves on a fairly regular basis.
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Message 1764456 - Posted: 12 Feb 2016, 21:10:15 UTC

What has (always) had me scratching my head is:
How could they say 'with certainty' that the waves are from this one (or any) specific event?
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Message 1764457 - Posted: 12 Feb 2016, 21:11:22 UTC - in response to Message 1764441.  

Probably he meant neutrinos, not neutrons, which do not change state.
Tullio

Absolutely correct Tullio, I said neutrons but meant neutrinos. They seem to change 'flavor' during their life and there is theory they are a physical manifestation of Dark Energy/Matter. Here's a .pdf on the subject by the recent Nobel Physics winners.......
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2015/mcdonald-lecture-slides.pdf

"Sour Grapes make a bitter Whine." <(0)>
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Message 1764458 - Posted: 12 Feb 2016, 21:20:21 UTC - in response to Message 1764457.  

I knew about the neutrinos, and vaguely knew that 'solitary' neutrons could decay into protons (+ extra stuff); I just thought/was hoping that there was something new that I hadn't heard about.
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Message 1764481 - Posted: 12 Feb 2016, 23:06:50 UTC - in response to Message 1764447.  

Gravitational wave detectors in space is already underway.
LISA Pathfinder will test technology for gravitational-wave observatories in space.

Not really, AFAIK this is a proof of concept test, Lisa Pathfinder is not looking for GW.

Concept test?
"This is tremendous news for everyone studying gravity and general relativity, and we send our warmest congratulations to colleagues in the LIGO collaboration for their outstanding result," says Paul McNamara, LISA Pathfinder project scientist at ESA.

LISA Pathfinder is ESA's technology demonstration mission for possible future missions to observe gravitational waves from space. Launched on 3 December 2015, the spacecraft reached its operational orbit in January and is undergoing final checks before starting its science mission on 1 March.

"With LISA Pathfinder, we will be testing the underlying technology to observe gravitational waves from space, and it is even more encouraging to know that these long-mysterious fluctuations have now been directly detected," adds Paul.
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Message boards : Science (non-SETI) : LIGO detected gravitational waves at last!


 
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