general relativity for babies What Are Gravitational Waves?

When massive objects crash into each other, there should be a release of gravitational waves. So what are these things and how can we detect them?
Support us at: http://www.patreon.com/universetoday
More stories at: http://www.universetoday.com/
Follow us on Twitter: @universetoday
Follow us on Tumblr: http://universetoday.tumblr.com/
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/universetoday
Google+ - https://plus.google.com/+universetoday/
Instagram - http://instagram.com/universetoday

Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain
Jason Harmer - @jasoncharmer
Susie Murph - @susiemmurph
Brian Koberlein - @briankoberlein
Chad Weber - weber.chad@gmail.com
Kevin Gill - @kevinmgill

Created by: Fraser Cain and Jason Harmer

Edited by: Chad Weber

Music: Left Spine Down - “X-Ray”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tcoZ...
Who wants to bet against Einstein? You? You? What about you?

Sure, there were a few bumps, but the guy’s track record on relativity is spotless. He explained the strange way that Mercury orbits the Sun. He guessed astronomers would see stars deflected by the Sun’s gravity during a solar eclipse. He predicted that gravity would redshift light, and it took physicists 50 years to finally come up with an experiment to verify it.

Based on his predictions, scientists confirmed galaxies warp light with their gravity, photons get time dilated when they pass near the Sun, and clocks that travel at high speeds experience less time than clocks on Earth.

They’ve even tested gravitational redshift, frame-dragging and the equivalence principle. Which is a word salad we’ll cover in the future, or for those of you who can’t wait, google.

Every time Bertie made a prediction about Relativity, physicists have been able to verify via experimentation. And so, according to this fuzzy man with the giant brain, when massive objects crash into each other, or when black holes form, there should be a release of gravitational waves.

So what are these things and how can we detect them?

First, a quick review. Mass causes a warp in space and time. The Sun’s “gravity” isn’t a pulling force, it’s really an indentation that the Sun causes in the space around itself.

Planets think they’re moving in a straight line, but they’re actually pulled into a circle while traveling through this warped spacetime. Go home planets, you’re drunk.

The idea is when mass moves or changes, Einstein said that there should be gravitational ripples produced in spacetime.

Our problem is that the size and effect of gravitational waves is incredibly small. We need to find the most catastrophic events in the Universe if we hope even detect them.

A supernova detonating asymmetrically, or two supermassive black holes orbiting each other, or a Galactus family reunion; are the magnitude of events we’re looking for.

The most serious attempt to detect gravitational waves is the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO detector, in the United States. It has two facilities separated by 3000 km. Each detector carefully watches for any gravitational waves passing through by the length of time it takes for laser pulses to bounce within a 4km long sealed vacuum.

If a gravitational wave is detected, the two observatories use triangulation to determine its magnitude and direction. At least, that was the plan from 2002 to 2010. The problem was, it didn’t detect any gravitational waves for its entire run.

But hey, this is a job for science. Unbowed, the steely-eyed researchers rebuilt the equipment, improving its sensitivity by a factor of 10. This next round starts in 2015.

Scientists have proposed space-based instruments that could provide more sensitivity and increase the chances of detecting a gravitational wave.

Physicists assume this is a question of “when”, not “if” that gravitational waves will be detected, as only a fool bets against Einstein. Well, that and gravitational waves have already been detected... indirectly.

By watching the extremely regular energy blasts coming from pulsars, astronomers track exactly how quickly they’re radiating their energy away due to gravitational waves. So far, all the observations perfectly match the predictions of relativity. We just haven’t detected those gravitational waves directly… yet.

So, good news! Assuming the physicists and Einstein are right, we should see the detection of a gravitational wave in the next few decades, wrapping up a series of predictions about how insanely strange our Universe behaves.

Should we dig deeper into relativity, Einstein and his predictions? Tell us in the comments below.

general relativity for babies What Are Gravitational Waves?
479 Likes	479 Dislikes
44,986 views views	253K followers
Science & Technology	Upload TimePublished on 8 Jun 2015

Related keywords

what gravitational waves can do,space news in tamil,space news nasa,physics field of study,fraser cain age,astrophysics for people in a hurry,astronomy domine letra,astronomy news,relativity community,ligonier connect,fraser cain credentials,science magazine,white light interferometry,astrophysics courses,astronomy tools,relativity equations,bicep2 gravitational waves,einstein quotes,universe today podcast,einstein rosen bridge,general relativity for mathematicians,universe 25,universe today newsletter,caltech campus,astrophysics examples,universe today,what field of study links physics to biology,black holes colliding,space jam 2 cast,universe today venus,what are gravitational waves made of,gravitational waves paper,ligonier valley school district,astrophysics inc,mars attacks,ligonier farmers market,fraser cain wiki,marsha p johnson,astronomy letra,bicep2 wiki,space news moon,universe quotes,caltech wiki,fraser cain wikipedia,what are gravitational waves used for,universe today pluto,nasa shirt,gravity tales,black holes aren't black,bicep2 inflacion,nasal decongestant,nasal cavity,universe meaning,bicep2 big bang,caltech admission,what are the gravitational waves that travel through space,interferometer telescope,earth science regents,interferometer mach zehnder,universe of obligation,what are gravitational waves for dummies,fraser cain bio,black holes and time warps,fraser cains actor,fraser cain book,interferometer michelson ppt,universe tickets,marshmello,universe today jupiter,science museum london,gravitational waves memory,gravitational waves proven,earthlink webmail,gravitational wave speed,wave (literature subject),albert einstein contribution,nasa florida,relativity software,general relativity for dummies,india's first laser interferometer gravitational wave observatory,science fiction lyrics,ligonier restaurants,nasa lyrics,gravitational waves news,science daily,black holes for kids,albert einstein picture,bicep2 dust,what gravitational waves do,universe today fraser cain,gravitational waves book,astrophysics meaning,gravitational wave detection,black holes apocalypse,space news mars,general relativity an introduction for physicists,space mountain,ligo livingston,laser interferometric gravitational wave observatory,bicep2 telescope,ligonier pennsylvania,universe today book,gravitational wave cosmology,astronomy metallica,laser interferometer gravitational-wave observatory (ligo),ligonier beach,interferometer sagnac,caltech plastazote,universe definition,einstein theory of relativity,ligonier days 2019,science fiction,astrophysics philippines,albert einstein award,bicep2 physics,astronomy picture of the day,black holes articles,fraser cain wife,caltech math,gravitational waves experiment,universe today news,nasal congestion,universe today mars,universe today neptune,caltech societe.com,gravitational waves pdf,what are gravitational waves in simple language,nasa news,fraser cain podcast,space jam,interferometer shearing,gravitational waves ligo,what do gravitational waves tell us,caltech computer science,universe age,universe today years of the planets,marshall plan,bicep2 team,science advances,albert einstein quotes,general relativity paper,black holes in space,science direct elsevier,astrophysics pdf,astronomy domine lyrics,astronomy domine tab,relativity ediscovery,space news india,relativity galilean,gravity chords,science bits,universe today mercury,black holes nasa,albert einstein tagalog,gravity force,what are gravitational waves caused by,marshall store,gravity meaning,space news articles,general relativity books,einstein invention,gravitational waves sound,black holes in the milky way,earthquake now,caltech mousse,interferometer michelson,nasa hoodie,field of study in physics form 4,space news in hindi,black holes definition,space jam 2,albert einstein death,interferometer definition,general relativity pdf,albert einstein movie,astronomy reddit,universe sandbox,ligonier camp,general relativity conference 2019,gravity john mayer,relativity of simultaneity,astronomy software,sciencealert,nasa jobs,einsteinian universe,universe tattoo,interferometer meaning,gravitational waves explained,fraser cain patreon,fraser cain biography,gravitational wave equation,universe of stories,black holes facts,earthquake near me,relativity definition,fraser cain youtube,gravitational wave background,relativity space,science direct,space newsletter,relativity general,what do gravitational waves mean,gravity value,what are primordial gravitational waves,general relativity for mathematicians pdf,bicep2 discovery,nasa space center,relativity theory definition,einstein wife,sciences po,what can gravitational waves tell us,gravity falls characters,spacex stock,space news websites,black holes netflix,astronomy for dummies pdf,general relativity definition,marshall beach,general relativity equation,nasacort,relativity theory,interferometer ligo,what are gravitational waves pdf,relativity معنى,einstein and eddington,interferometer heterodyne,science hub,gravitational waves cardiff,universe today saturn,astrophysics degree,gravity unit,caltech physics,science kombat,albert einstein iq,albert einstein brain,nasa astronaut anne mcclain,interferometer ultrasonic,universe today twitter,space needle,albert einstein age,space news podcast,gravitational wave detector,astrophysics black guy,bicep2 primordial gravitational waves,gravitational waves detected,what creates gravitational waves,general relativity wald,relativity book,gravitational waves in general relativity vii. waves from axi-symmetric isolated system,gravitational waves upsc,astronomy domine chords,fraser cain newsletter,fraser cain twitter,universe today uranus,general relativity for babies pdf,gravitational waves discovery,astronomy lyrics,interferometer bath,universe background,ligon duncan,advanced laser interferometer gravitational-wave observatory,laser interferometer gravitational-wave observatory livingston la,earthquake california,ligonier pa,astronomy and astrophysics,nasal vestibulitis,black holes for dummies,marshmallow,albert einstein theory,caltech phd,black holes and revelations,universe today logo,astrophysics for people in a hurry pdf,space center houston,eartha kitt,laser interferometer gravitational wave observatory nedir,bicep2 results wrong,interferometer lisa,mach zehnder interferometer,what are gravitational waves quora,gravitational wave polarization,universe today app,einstein iq,laser interferometer gravitational wave observatory (ligo) project,fraser cain net worth,second generation instruments for the laser interferometer gravitational wave observatory (ligo),space news daily,general relativity and gravitation,marshall ca,astronomy names,earth signs,gravitational waves gif,relativity theory special,gravity definition,caltech fees,astrophysics definition,albert einstein history,albert einstein wife,universe today patreon,gravitational waves lisa,nasal polyps,what produces gravitational waves,nasa fcu,universe sandbox free,gravitational waves list,universe today big bang theory,albert einstein facts,space news app,earth lyrics,earth lil dicky,marshalls san jose,caltech usa,black holes threat,bicep2 retraction,gravitational wave event,relativity the special and the general theory,fraser cain education,general relativity theory,gravity constant,ligotti,bicep2 wikipedia,gravitational waves speed,fraser cain email,earth wind and fire,interferometer optical,black holes news,relativity of time,space crime,gravitational wave 中文,marshawn lynch,what is meant by gravitational waves,spacex,universe synonym,earth shoes,gravitational waves glasgow,space news now,astrophysics phd,earth fare,marsai martin,einsteinium,interferometer michelson experiment,gravitational waves from the big bang,earthquake bay area,earthquake today,science research,relativity media,astrophysics jobs,nasa houston,black holes in the universe,astrophysics asia inc,space news 2019,gravitational wave machine learning,gravity movie,gravity lyrics john mayer,gravity lyrics sara,gravity lyrics,caltech library,space coast credit union,gravity sara bareilles,science en español,bicep2 results,einstein riddle,earthgang,astronomy metallica lyrics,space cowboys,space news asteroid,earthlink,caltech ranking,interferometer pdf,gravitational wave strain,nasal spray,gravity in tagalog,laser interferometer gravitational-wave observatory louisiana,einstein tower,marsupial,gravitational wave data analysis,einstein contribution,caltech dataset,astronomy books,space news reddit,gravitational wave ligo,albert einstein inventions,astrophysics in tagalog,astrophysics for people in a hurry audiobook,caltech budget,astronomy domine,marshall islands,laser interferometer gravity-wave observatory,gravitational waves detector,gravitational wave observatory,interferometer virgo,einstein refrigerator,bicep2 xkcd,einstein cause of death,general relativity wald pdf,fraser cain death threats,space race,marshall faulk,ligon middle school,gravitational waves and gravitons,caltech california,relativity movie,space news uk,http://spacenews.com,spaceballs,einstein formula,mars bar,caltech prix,science of the total environment,science fiction movies,gravity formula,fraser cains grange hill,einstein theory,bicep2 keating,nasa astronauts,lingonberry,laser interferometer gravitational-wave observatory (ligo) in india,astrophysics books,ligonier valley football,einstein exchange,what frequency are gravitational waves,bicep2 affair,ligonier pa weather,earthquake los angeles,black holes on earth,astrophysics terms,universe wallpaper,space force,ligonier indiana,ligonier tavern,relativity meaning,albert einstein works,science news,einstein death,astrophysicist,science traduccion,what are gravitational waves reddit,nasa amazon fire,space movies,marshalls,universe towing,nasa logo,albert einstein children,space invaders,caltech 101,general relativity action,bicep2 collaboration,universe appliance,einstein on the beach,marsala wine,universe today earth,space news australia,gravitational waveform,albert einstein education,gravity falls,advanced laser interferometer gravitational-wave observatory (ligo),universe pictures,bicep2 failure,astrophysics ppt,relativity the special and the general theory مترجم,earthquake,marsha edwards,caltech chemistry,space station,spacex launch,albert einstein nationality,black holes theory,gravitational waves nobel prize,space news magazine,marshmello face,science citation index,einstein brain,bicep2 data,space shuttle,ligonier,space camp,astronomy linux,fraser cain astronomy,astronomy wallpaper,gravitational wave communication,general relativity robert wald pdf,black holes solid ground,earthbound,general relativity exercises,laser interferometer gravitational-wave observatory upsc,gravity falls season 3,universe dota,interferometer michelson animation,gravity google,what are gravitational waves and why do they matter,marseille,albert einstein discoveries,universe toyota,earthworm sally,ligonier country club,