Gravitational waves: why should you care? – Channel 44 News Channel

If electromagnetic waves discovered in 1888 revolutionized the then emerging technology, imagine what will no gravitational waves. Thanks to the first, today we have radio, television, mobile phones, wireless computer networking, X-rays and many other things. Now the same is expected of the latter, hence its importance

Albert Einstein knew what for 100 years. There are waves everywhere. His prediction was the mainstay of his General Theory of Relativity, a key part of modern physics, which transformed our understanding of space, time and gravity. . With waves detected by Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO), it is proved that a large object can warp space-time

Astronomers do science with the information that comes from space – Julieta Fierro says astronomer and scientific promoter of the UNAM. Until now it had been radiation: light, gamma rays, X-rays, radio waves; and particles: cosmic rays, protons. Now he maintains thanks to the detection of gravitational waves, we have another way to analyze the cosmos.

Fascinating, is not it? “Space is curved in the presence of bodies with lots of stuff,” he says the Mexican investigating. He explains: “We can imagine that the universe is full of curved lines where the stars and rays of light, moving as if the universe were a vast grid of invisible wavy lines. If you shove them a stone in a pool advancing waves in the pool. If for any reason increases the severity somewhere, for example if two neutron stars collide, the lines of cosmic grid disturbance agitated and moving like ripples in a pool of water. “

what is a fact is that LIGO discovery opens the door to a new way of looking at the cosmos.

Thanks to the gravitational waves affirms the researcher will be able mexicana- studying objects whose gravity is immense, like black holes of millions of solar masses who are in the centers of galaxies. Know too -. Insured how it is possible to acquire these very immense masses

Meanwhile, Dr. William Lee Alardín, coordinator of Scientific Research of the UNAM, argues that the information obtained will be used to start to make a map of the universe. Also he says confirms the existence of black holes, and pit discarded theories that were not considered. “There comes a new era in physics research,” he says.

For Dr. Shahen Hacyan, researcher at the Institute of Physics of the highest seat of learning, discovery compared with the rise of the theory of evolution. “It’s amazing the technology had to be developed to detect such a fragile country, which in the future will be applied in everyday life. So far, the universe saw through electromagnetic waves and now we have a new window to view and study through gravitational waves, “says the specialist.

With the discovery that you have is that now space objects can be seen (by electromagnetic waves) and listen (gravitational waves). That is, two different but complementary things to study the same things. “It’s great that just a hundred years after Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves are detected,” said Julieta Fierro.

Experts agree that with the detection of gravitational waves from an unproven confirmed the General Theory of Relativity. “In the past there were several attempts to detect gravitational waves: huge metal cylinders, satellites, but none had the technology to detect the movement feel the passage of a gravitational wave. You are newly discovered waves traveled millions of years to reach Earth and therefore attenuated arrived. A light waves happens the same, if a source is far away, we see weak. So far these deformations were unable to be measured “says Fierro Grossman

The detection of gravitational waves happened thanks to two things.

Several laboratories 1- measured signal simultaneously .

2- the techniques used, employing addition and subtraction of light aces (laser interferometry) is very accurate and can measure similar to that of a proton, which is the size of the dimensions disturbance produced gravitational waves that arrived from remote galaxy where black holes merged.

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iNTERFEROMETER How to measure a vibration in an interferometer? Dr. Shahen Hacyan explains that the frequencies of vibration of each of the external factors are calculated, where noise is at a minimum and that can detect a gravitational wave whose frequency goes from 50 to 200 Hz (hertz); this principle multiple interferometers, including LIGO, which measuring 4 kilometers and is divided into two laboratories, when reaching a gravitational wave were built two laboratories have to observe exactly the same; otherwise it would be a local disturbance

Why are so large interferometers ?, Dr. Miguel Alcubierre asks, and replies. “Because the effect of wave is very large, since it is proportional to the object size. Early estimates indicate that could detect an event (gravitational waves) once every 50 years; after the improvement in 2015 was able to detect the first last September. “

What is the ‘sound’ of gravitational waves?
Gravitational waves are more like sound to light . It so happens that for various astrophysical events the frequency region is right in the range of human hearing.

It is important to note that is not a sound itself, are perturbations of spacetime, but the signal the detector can be sent to a speaker to “hear it” thanks to a numerical simulation

Source:. www.elfinanciero.com.mx