Physicists detect gravitational waves from violent black-hole merger

Gravitational waves have been discovered for the first time after scientists managed to observe the warping of spacetime caused by the collision of two black holes over a billion years ago.

Scientists said Thursday they had observed one of physics’ most significant discoveries: tangible proof of Albert Einstein’s 1915 theory of gravitational waves rippling the fabric of space and time.

Decades after the departure of genius theoretical physicist Albert Einstein, scientists said he was right about gravitational waves. “We did it”, said California Institute of Technology physicist David Reitze, triggering applause at a packed news conference in Washington, DC.

Louisiana State University physics and astronomy professor Gabriela Gonza´lez said: “This detection is the beginning of a new era”.

The “sensitive measuring thing” is the twin Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors, which are in Louisiana and Washington in the US. Gravitational waves have been present in the universe since the Big Bang, and now it can all be traced back. The gravitational waves described by Reitze is made of one black hole with the mass of 29 suns while the other was the equivalent of 36 suns. They pick up passing gravitational waves by measuring how space-time stretches and contracts – by as little as one ten-thousandth the diameter of a proton.

“We can hear gravitational waves”.

The gravitational waves, defined as ripples in space-time, is said to be created by the merging of two black holes.

We will now be able to detect parts of the universe that were earlier hidden from us, and events that led to the creation of galaxies can also be studied.

The scientific community is losing it’s shit rn. Suddenly we know how to listen.

As per the scientists who made the announcement, the waves which were discovered triggered by two blackholes colliding to form a larger blackhole nearly 1.3 billion years ago.

LIGO records such distortions on a photodetector, based on how long it takes laser light to travel down both 2.5-mile-long (4 kilometers) arms of each L-shaped detector.