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Gravitational Waves May Have Been Detected In 1987
KentuckyFC writes "In 1987, a physicist called Joe Weber claimed to have detected gravitational waves at the same time that other scientists spotted a supernova called SN1987A. His claims were largely ignored because of calculations showing that gravitational waves could not be strong enough to be picked up by Weber's equipment, a set of giant aluminium cylinders designed to vibrate as the waves passed by. But these calculations were based on first order effects in the way spacetime can be distorted. Now a new analysis shows that second order effects can enhance gravitational waves by four orders of magnitude, but only when certain asymmetries are present. It turns out that SN1987A possesses just the right kind of asymmetries to make this enhancement possible because the supernova wasn't entirely spherical. Which means that Weber, who died in 2000, may have been the first to see gravitational waves after all."
Gravity waves? I thought they'd never be observed! Impeller Drive, here we come! Now all we need is to prove hyperspace as a viable means of travel and invent Warshawski sails. :-P
(Joking aside, this is great news! Gravity waves have been one of the most difficult aspects of relativistic physics to pin down.)
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
So, what was his real name? Also, editors, the last statement of your summary is a sentence fragment. Please fix this.
...where's my surfboard ? I'm totally stoked, I want to be the first to ride a gravity wave, that'd be, like really heavy, man !
And here I was always convinced they were Gravity Particles.
I'm sure glad you didn't die during those five minutes. I mean, how much does it have to suck to die, with your post being discredited, and your claims laughed at? Then a decade later, the Slashdot community goes "Oops, you were right" with a +5 Insightful.
it was the pure amazement of my high school teachers that I was graduating. I was pretty shocked too.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
using my tin foil hat.
All we need to do is hire Malcom McDowell to destroy the Sun! Just tell him that it will get him into the Nexus, he'll do it for free!
Man is the animal that laughs.
And occasionally whores for Karma.
I remember because I was alive in 1987 and I felt it too when it happened. It was just as that star was exploding as a matter of fact. But it was hard to notice and you had to be paying really close attention. I take a lot of mind-altering drugs so I was able to sit still and concentrate on the physics.
Basically gravitational waves have a quadrupole moment so you feel your ears move apart slightly and your face contracting vertically. Then your face expands vertically as your ears move together. This happens a bunch of times and the effect is very slight- just a few femtometers- so you might not notice. But once you feel that cool wind of neutrinos flowing up from the floor and blowing through your hair, that should be a fairly obvious hint that a star is exploding somewhere and deserving of your attention.
It's still there, but they've added a "Beware of the leopard" sign and removed the doorknob.
What are they going to name the gravity SI unit, Webers? Right...
How about 'Joes'? I hate the way first names are always neglected in SI jargon.