After half a century of research, physicists made a discovery that confirms the last more important postulate of Einstein’s relativity theory. For the first time we could be observed on the Earth gravitational waves.
For space gravitational waves are what the water in the lake waves generated after passing ship. They stretch and compress space and all that is in it. September 14 last year Two American Observatory LIGO detectors spaced 3 thousand. km (one in Washington and one in Louisiana) registered almost the same time the signal of gravitational waves coming from the colliding of two black holes.
The results were announced at a conference held simultaneously in the USA and in Italy. Its also he organized in Warsaw, Polish Academy of Sciences. In the study they participated scientists from a dozen countries – including Polish. It researchers affiliated with experiments at the LIGO detectors in the US and Virgo in Italy – a total of more than 1,300 people (including 15 Poles). It is not only the Nobel prize for researchers, but also the opening of a new chapter in physics and the study of the universe – experts say.
Clash of one billion years ago
– This is the first direct registration signal gravity on Earth – said prof. Andrew Królak from the Institute of Mathematical Sciences in Warsaw and the National Center for Nuclear Research – leader of the Polish group of scientists involved in the project.
The scientist noted that although the same collision of black holes in less than a blink eye and was more than 1 billion years ago, it was really powerful. The speed at which black holes reached just before the collision, is half the speed of light (150 thous. Km / sec.). Resulting from this cosmic catastrophe gravitational wave traveling at the speed of light through the universe and it was only last year reached the Earth.
A crucial step
– the signal that we recorded, lasted only 0.12 seconds, but it was extremely clear and agreed very closely with the models laid down by the general theory of relativity, Einstein – said prof. Królak. So far found only indirect evidence that gravitational waves – provided for in Einstein’s theory – there are, and that is also the point of the famous theory was consistent with the truth.
– opens before us a new field of astronomy – astronomy of gravitational waves. We are at a turning point – pointed Królak. He explained that further research on gravity waves may shed light on what happens in black holes.
Tunnels with lasers
American detectors which detected the “ripples” in space-time, is a monumental laser interferometers. Their tunnels are L-shaped, and each of the arms is the 4 km long. In the interior of the arms extends the laser light. In simple terms checking with great precision (thousandths the diameter of a proton), the length of one arm system varies in relation to the length of the second arm.
It would seem that the results are always the same. And it turns out that they do not. Passing through the Earth gravitational wave – which is hard to detect, because at the moment deforms the entire space-time around us – can tell just by the results of measurements in the interferometer. It is observed on September 14.
Polish part
– the Poles in this project not only wore the bill, but played a more important role – said vice-president PAN prof. Paul Rowiński. As mentioned, tasks of Poles in the project was to analyze the data obtained from the American detectors LIGO, research astrophysical sources of gravitational waves, the construction of models of signals of gravitational waves, and participation in the development of the detector Virgo (this interferometer, which is located in Italy and working shoulder to shoulder with detectors LIGO. For now undergoing renovation, but will be open by the end of this year).
As said Rowiński, the project involved researchers from the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Center for Astronomical them. Nicolaus Copernicus Academy of Sciences, National Center for Nuclear Research, and Universities: Bialystok, Nicolaus Copernicus, Warsaw, Wroclaw and Zielona Gora.
False discovery
In March of 2014. another team of scientists studying gravitational waves scored a significant setback and announced the discovery of gravitational waves based on erroneous interpretations. Then the results came from a completely different type of research – observation of the microwave background radiation with a telescope BICEP2. Over time, it turned out that in these studies is a mistake (not taken into account some relevant factors). A year ago, the publication of the public were canceled.
IAR / PAP / fc
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