http://gizmodo.com/rumors-are-flying-that-we-may-have-finall

 

Excited rumors began circulating on Twitter this morning that a major experiment designed to hunt for gravitational waves—ripples in the fabric of spacetime first predicted by Albert Einstein—has observed them directly for the very first time. If confirmed, this would be one of the most significant physics discoveries of the last century.

 

Move a large mass very suddenly—or have two massive objects suddenly collide, or a supernova explode—and you would create ripples in space-time, much like tossing a stone in a still pond. The more massive the object, the more it will churn the surrounding spacetime, and the stronger the gravitational waves it should produce. Einstein predicted their existence in his general theory of relativity back in 1915, but he thought it would never be possible to test that prediction.

 

LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory) is one of several experiments designed to hunt for these elusive ripples, and with its latest upgrade to Advanced LIGO, completed last year, it has the best chance of doing so. In fact, it topped our list of physics stories to watch in 2016.

 

 

There have been excited rumors about a LIGO discovery before, most notably a mere week after the upgraded experiment began operations last fall. Lawrence Krauss, a physicist at Arizona State University, spilled the beans on Twitter, giving it a 10- to 15-percent chance of being true. “The official response is that we’re analyzing the data,” LIGO spokesperson Gabriela González (Louisiana State University) told Nature at the time.

 

Now it seems the rumors have resurfaced, and Krauss has been blabbing again:

 

We’re guessing that once again, the official response will be that they’re currently analyzing the data and everyone should just be patient, because you can’t rush this kind of tricky analysis. TL;DR: They will neither confirm nor deny the rumor.

 

UPDATE 3:18 PM: Alan Weinstein, who heads the LIGO group at Caltech, had this to say via email: “My response to you is no more or less than the official one, which is the truth: ‘We are analyzing 01 data and will share news when ready.’ I’d say that it is wisest to just be patient.”

 

That’s good advice in general when rumors of exciting breakthroughs begin circulating. But in this case, it’s quite possible that they are true. Loyola University physicist Robert McNees pointed out on Twitter that he’d only made one prediction for physics breakthroughs in 2016: that Advanced LIGO would directly detect gravitational waves. And he certainly wasn’t the only one to do so. He also had a few things to say about this brave new world we live in, where big physics news inevitably leaks out onto social media:

 

“I guess I’d say that rumors just reflect how excited we all get about the prospect of new discoveries. It’s natural to feel that way! But the last thing we want to do is jump the gun,” McNees told Gizmodo via Twitter DM. “The best way to support these scientists is to let them carry out their experiments and analysis the way they were meant to be done. Let them take the time to do things the right way! And as physicists, I think we need to greet the inevitable rumors with explanations of how science works and why it’s so important to be careful. Even if that means having to wait for exciting news.”

 

Sigh. Fine. We’ll be hanging onto the edge of our seats waiting for official confirmation one way or the other. If true—well, it’s a hell of a way to kick off 2016. And it would probably be a shoo-in for this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics.

 

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So if there are gravitational waves, do they behave standard model and the wave-particle duality? Will there be gravitational particles? Maybe one day produce them?

This is a little beyond my level of understanding of physics. I get the gravitational fields it creates with large masses and the way it goes to explain the way dark matter works etc. etc.(at least in layman terms).

 

If they do in fact manage to determine their existence, and prove/disprove the accuracy of Einstein's theory of relativity, what are the ramifications? What will we be able to do with this knowledge? What would a breakthrough lead to? The biggest concern I always have with things like this, what unknown resulting ramification/discovery/creation will this lead to? Mans thirst for knowledge is the reason we have the things we do today and the comforts and luxuries we have. It is also the reason we now have the ability to wipe out life on earth as we know it. I believe sometimes we get carried away with the question 'Can we do this?' or 'How do we do this?'. Being a parent and grand parent, I think about the future and future generations way more than I used to. With the future in mind, I really hope the first question these scientists have asked is 'Should we be doing this?'

This is a little beyond my level of understanding of physics. I get the gravitational fields it creates with large masses and the way it goes to explain the way dark matter works etc. etc.(at least in layman terms).

 

If they do in fact manage to determine their existence, and prove/disprove the accuracy of Einstein's theory of relativity, what are the ramifications? What will we be able to do with this knowledge? What would a breakthrough lead to? The biggest concern I always have with things like this, what unknown resulting ramification/discovery/creation will this lead to? Mans thirst for knowledge is the reason we have the things we do today and the comforts and luxuries we have. It is also the reason we now have the ability to wipe out life on earth as we know it. I believe sometimes we get carried away with the question 'Can we do this?' or 'How do we do this?'. Being a parent and grand parent, I think about the future and future generations way more than I used to. With the future in mind, I really hope the first question these scientists have asked is 'Should we be doing this?'

 

 

 

 

 

Hear, hear!!!

I did a little bit of reading about possible applications of gravitational waves and the short answer is there isn't much we can do with them. At this point we can really only learn from them and use them to better understand how the universe works.

We don't need many things that have been discovered and

 

created. Period

 

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I did a little bit of reading about possible applications of gravitational waves and the short answer is there isn't much we can do with them. At this point we can really only learn from them and use them to better understand how the universe works.

 

 

 

Yes. They would be able to better explain/understand the big bang theory etc. etc. Maybe even predict what is going to happen either here or some distant planets, or even solar system. It's more the 'side effects' that worry me. Maybe 100 years down the line the human race will be talking about the LIGA machine (or the LISA machine - the EU equivalent) and how that was modified to create invention X, which nearly wiped out the human race when it exploded. Or maybe it was the catalyst for the idea of creating weapon Y that started the intergalactic war with the Klingons. Far fetched? Yes. Possible? Hell yes!

 

It wasn't that long ago we discovered atoms. Then we could split them. Then we noticed the heat/energy that was generated. Fast forward to the Cuban missile crisis, the cold war, N. Korea/Iran's nuclear development. All if's and maybe's, but still gives me pause.

I did a little bit of reading about possible applications of gravitational waves and the short answer is there isn't much we can do with them. At this point we can really only learn from them and use them to better understand how the universe works.

 

 

 

Except for maybe propulsion through space and time courtesy of an Alcubierre Drive? Ride that wave brother 

we as some of us have mentioned... interplanetary propulsion is one of the main things that come to mind. as ACS mentioned Einstein, i dont think it will disprove or strengthen his theory. but it could lead to the bending of his theory of relativity. on a planetary level... antigrav devices. so transportation would be affected. energy production... figure if you were out in space and you had the ability to condense a mass to the point where it implodes (creating a blackhole) and if you have the knowledge to to do this one would probably have the knowledge to harness the energy output of said singularity for their hearts desire... though we are no where near that.gravity is still a big mystery...it's strong enough to keep the universe in place but weak enough that we can breakout of our atmosphere. just thought it was a cool thing.... and when you talk about  the Alcubierre Drive a modern-day WARP DRIVE. it's pretty neat.

 

 

 

Except for maybe propulsion through space and time courtesy of an Alcubierre Drive? Ride that wave brother 

 

 

 

That's why I said a little bit of reading Murder.  :tongue:  I'm all for space travel though!

An announcement is going to be made this Thursday regarding gravitational waves.

Just read this post- any link to the update/ was it pretty significant? 

I saw this on youtube last year. Not just did they find gravitational waves but they made artificial gravity and created a working warp drive. From what I have heard they will bend the gravitational waves around them to be able to go into warp drive.

 

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