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Gravity Wave Detector Ready For Business

Posted by timothy on from the very-expensive-ripples dept.

Arthur Embleton writes "The BBC has an article about a Gravity Wave Detector. There are two L shaped set-ups. One in Washington, the other in Louisiana. They've got a Laser pointing at a mirror 4km away, watching for the reflection and if it is distorted then it shows that there has been a gravitational pulse, possibly by two Black Holes colliding. The detectors are apparently so accurate they can measure to one-thousandth of the width of a proton! How did they test that it works?"

2 of 53 comments (clear)

  1. Really.. by NegativeK · · Score: 4, Insightful

    How did they test that it works?

    I think that's the problem. These detectors should work in theory, but gravitation waves are so minute when they get to us that it's _really_ hard to be able to get a reading on them. My bet is the first to provide fairly solid evidence of gravitational waves gets a Nobel.

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    This statement is false.
    1. Re:Really.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I betting that's why they build two. You get the same event at the same time on both then say, "What else could it be." I think the hardest problem they will have is that they also made the worlds most sensitve seismic detector. Luckily seismic waves travel much slower than gravity waves.