"The practice of science happens at the border between the known and the unknown. Standing on the shoulders of giants, we peer into the darkness with eyes opened not in fear but in wonder."
- Brian Cox, physicist
Physics is fascinating to most curious minds even if we fail to fully understand a gravitational wave or the theory of relativity. One of the most amazing discoveries of the decade was made by an international team of scientists this week at twin LIGO https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/ or Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory's, one in Livingston, Louisiana and the other in Hanford, Washington(US). On Thursday, February 11th physicists and astronomers reported that gravitational waves were detected generated by cosmic collisions or the merging of two black holes. The black holes are 1.3 billion light-years away and about thirty times the mass of the sun. (Audio "chirp" and commentary courtesy of LIGO &YouTube )
Why is the discovery such a tremendous breakthrough? A century ago one of the most incredible thinkers in modern academic history, Albert Einstein explained in his General Theory of Relativity (1915-16) that the force of gravity arose from the curvature of space and time. Matter and energy such as the earth and other planets distort the shape or geometry of the universe similar to how our bodies leave an impression or distort the shape of foam padding. Now one hundred years later the theory of interweaving space-time is vindicated with the latest information expanding on a much greater and complex understanding of galaxies and stars.
Where can you learn more about this latest historic discovery? Visit LIGO athttps://www.ligo.caltech.edu/
Scientific American http://www.scientificamerican.com/
NOVA http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/
HowStuffWorks http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/
NASA https://www.nasa.gov/
Popular Science http://www.popsci.com/
