{"id":4111,"date":"2016-04-05T12:16:02","date_gmt":"2016-04-05T10:16:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cienciagandia.webs.upv.es\/en\/2016\/04\/ondas-gravitacionales-100-anos-esperandolas\/"},"modified":"2016-04-06T10:46:06","modified_gmt":"2016-04-06T08:46:06","slug":"gravitational-waves-a-one-hundred-year-wait","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cienciagandia.webs.upv.es\/en\/2016\/04\/gravitational-waves-a-one-hundred-year-wait\/","title":{"rendered":"Gravitational waves, a One-Hundred-Year Wait"},"content":{"rendered":"

In February 2016, the LIGO<\/a><\/strong> Scientific Collaboration for the Observation of Gravitational Waves<\/strong> announced the first ever direct detection of gravitational waves<\/a> through their two ultra precise laser interferometers located in the USA, exactly 100 years after Albert Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity<\/a><\/strong> predicted these waves as ripples in space-time. Specifically, on September 14, 2015 twin LIGO stations detected vibrations caused by the gravitational waves generated by the collision of two black holes about 1.3 billion light- years ago, an event dubbed GW150914<\/strong>.
\nI wouldn\u2019t call this a “historic” event, since lately everything is considered historic, so this is not really a tremendous distinction. It does, however, further confirm Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity<\/strong>, one that was already confirmed by proof that light bends in the presence of gravitational fields, a fact so assimilated that we have incorporated it in satellite technology for proper GPS referencing. Moreover, GW150914 is just the first breath of fresh air coming through a new window that has opened onto the Universe<\/strong> and through which we can now detect the most energetic and long-reaching phenomena in the Universe. I am certain that we will soon discover new sounds and unfamiliar smells, ones very different from the mascletades<\/em>, but equally intoxicating.<\/p>\n

\"ondas
Images: LIGO Laboratory<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I would also like to approach the GW150914 event from a more emotional standpoint. The signal detected by LIGO, which seems modest at first glance (I have seen hundreds of similar signals through a microphone connected to an oscilloscope), can provide us with a great topic of conversation if we ever succeed in making contact with civilizations from other planets. I don’t think we could really talk about the last Bar\u00e7a-Madrid match, or even about the weather.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the GW150914 widens the imagination of Star Wars<\/strong> or Doraemon<\/strong> fans fantasizing with traveling through hyperspace<\/strong> at superluminal speeds, or through time<\/strong>. With GW150914, we can once again say, “How tiny is humanity in such an immense universe, and how wonderful we are!”<\/strong> as we are able to decipher it more and more with new tools and challenges (it’s a shame that we are unable to apply the same level of collaboration to all our problems).<\/p>\n

\"ondas
Images: LIGO Laboratory<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I can also imagine the immense satisfaction of the thousands of scientists or engineers, such as my colleague Alicia Sintes<\/a><\/strong>, who have spent decades working to detect these waves; or the sheer jitters of Miquel Oliver<\/a><\/strong>, a doctoral student who participated in the operation of the experimental control when the waves were detected. Not to mention the excitement of my friend\u00a0Pau Amaro<\/a><\/strong> upon seeing that his studies and predictions on gravitational waves in binary collisions of this type had been confirmed. Looking inward, I also feel satisfied with my own contribution through\u00a0ANTARES <\/a>monitoring this phenomenon to look for the appearance of neutrinos <\/a>coinciding with gravitational waves, and making me feel a part of this HISTORIC event. Sorry, but I couldn’t help myself.<\/p>\n