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Renewed Gravity Research Could Soon Yield Results

Posted by timothy on from the but-gravity-is-everywhere dept.

t482 writes "Dr. Michelle Thaller has a nice article describing the current thoughts on gravity. Why is it so weak? Detecting gravity waves has turned into a bit of a cottage industry. "We are close," says MIT physicist Rainer Weiss, a pioneer in gravity wave research for more than 30 years. "I think sometime in the next two or three years we will see something.""

9 of 89 comments (clear)

  1. 30 years and still no results? by Zemrec · · Score: 5, Funny

    Damn...that's gotta be depressing.

    (at the water cooler, 1973)
    "Hi, Bob, seen any gravity waves lately?"
    "Nope, but we're real close now."

    (in an instant message, 2003)
    "Hi, Bob, seen any gravity waves lately?"
    "Nope, but we're real close now."

    You gotta wonder what gets these people out of bed day in and day out.

    1. Re:30 years and still no results? by Zeio · · Score: 0, Funny

      Yeah, better than:

      (At Watering Hole, 1,000,003 BC / BCE :)
      Oog, me Oog, my primitve brain found Frylock's supercomputer, seen any gravity waves?

      (at Town Well 2003, BC / BCE :)
      Hi, Job, seen any gravity waves lately?
      What's gravity? What's a wave? Is that something you leave as an offering to the Gods?

      and so on.

      --
      Legalize the constitution. Think for yourself question authority.
    2. Re:30 years and still no results? by BobGarcia · · Score: 2, Funny

      The problem is that you can get too close. Get closer and you have to deal with other forces: weak, strong, midic(h)lorian, and IWOMM ("It works on my machine" -- the most mysterious and pissoffingous force of them all.)

      --
      Half of my words are lies. Neither you, nor I, nor anyone else, can tell which.
    3. Re:30 years and still no results? by Jahf · · Score: 2, Funny

      There should be a "+.5 Almost Funny" rating :)

      --
      It is more productive to voice thoughtful opinions (reply) than to judge (moderate) others.
    4. Re:30 years and still no results? by Mr.+McGibby · · Score: 4, Funny

      Complaining about teaching undergraduate classes.

      --
      Mad Software: Rantings on Developing So
  2. My curious cat by NanoGator · · Score: 4, Funny

    My cat performs gravitic experiments all the time. He's even discovered anti-gravity. He pushes my cell phone off the desk, and within minutes it levitates back up to the desk.

    --
    "Derp de derp."
  3. Re:Gravity doesn't effect me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I should hope not, given that effect is not a verb!

  4. Re:Gravity waves != gravitational waves by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny
    What?!, I hear you think. Yes sir, you've been lied to in geometry class! However, you've been lied to only very, very slightly. Example: if you measure the radius of a sphere (say: R), you expect to find a surface area of exactly 4/3 * pi * R^3.

    When I finished geometry, I expected to find the surface area of a sphere to be exactly 4*pi*R^2.

  5. Re:Gravity waves != gravitational waves by pyrrho · · Score: 2, Funny

    man, I HATE it when you subconsciouly do an integration! Arg!

    --

    -pyrrho