05/22/2013
New method proposed for detecting gravitational waves
A new method for detecting gravitational waves (one of the missing pieces of Einstein’s theory of general relativity) has been proposed by scientists at the University of Nevada, Reno and Stanford University. The striking sensitivity of this new device would detect the obscure gravitational waves coming in from the other end of the universe.
Gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of space-time. Similar to how a boat sailing through the ocean produces waves in the water, moving celestial objects, such as planets, stars, or black holes, produce gravitational waves in the curvature of space-time. The heavier the objects, the larger the waves; and the faster the objects move, the more waves they produce. Lavish ripples occur especially in a massive binary system, as depicted in the image below.
The proposed device includes using a small, laser-cooled sensor that is suspended in an optical cavity to avoid friction. As described by Assistant Professor Andrew Geraci from UN Reno, “A passing gravity wave changes the physically measured distance between two test masses - small discs or spheres. In our approach, such a mass experiences minimal friction and therefore is very sensitive to small forces.”
The new device, according to these scientists, can exceed today’s advanced gravitational wave detectors by up to an order of magnitude, in the frequency range of 50 to 300 kilohertz. Having these detectors can have a great impact in the field of astrophysics; or, as Geraci puts it, “the invention of a gravitational wave detector [lets us] "see" the universe through gravity waves [and is] analogous to the invention of the telescope, which let us see the universe using light. Having such detectors will allow us to learn more about astrophysical objects in our universe, such as black holes.”
For more info, source links (including the published journal) are included below.
-RP
Sources:
http://bit.ly/YY9r3o
http://bit.ly/YY9yMn [Physical Review Letters Journal]
Image Credit: NASA
