Scientists have discovered gravitational waves, ripples in space and time, that confirm one of Albert Einstein’s last unverified theories about the universe.
Einstein believed that the tiny ripples are caused by every object that moves through time and space.
The discovery is expected to open up a whole new avenue for researchers to study the nature and history of the universe.
David Reitze, Executive Director of LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) made the announcement:
“So these gravitational waves were produced by two colliding black holes that came together, merged to form a single black hole about 1.3 billion years ago. They were detected by LIGO, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory. LIGO is the most precise measuring device ever built.”
The discovery comes 100 years after Einstein
first predicted the existence of gravitational waves, as part of his theory of relativity.
The European Space Agency is looking forward to a whole new area of exploration.
José Mendes is a Payload Engineer for LISA Pathfinder, ESA:
“It will allow us to build space craft that will detect the gravitational waves and it will investigate the signals and investigate the source of the signals and allow us to explore the universe in a different way.”
The LIGO research team published the findings in the Journal of Physical Review Lett.
The journal said that its server capacity has been overwhelmed with people trying to find the study.
A study that has really made waves
.
Source: http://www.euronews.com/2016/02/12/albert-einstein-and-the-incredible-discovery-of-gravitational-waves/
