Gravitational Waves Discovered

Started by walkstall, February 11, 2016, 02:24:45 PM

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walkstall



snip~
One hundred years ago, Albert Einstein published his general theory of relativity, which described how gravity warps and distorts space-time.

This undated photo provided by NASA and taken by an instrument aboard the agency's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows dark, narrow, 100 meter-long streaks on the surface of Mars that scientists believe were caused by flowing streams of salty water. Researchers said Monday, Sept. 28, 2015, that the latest observations strongly support the longtime theory that salt water in liquid form flows down certain Martian slopes each summer.

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While this theory triggered a revolution in our understanding of the universe, it made one prediction that even Einstein doubted could be confirmed: the existence of gravitational waves.


Today, a century later, we have that confirmation, with the detection of gravitational waves by the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (aLIGO) detectors

more @
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-02-11/gravitational-waves-discovered-top-scientists-respond
A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation.- James Freeman Clarke

Always remember "Feelings Aren't Facts."

daidalos

Walks ya beat me to it.  :lol: I had Meant to post the same the other day. This is big news, not only because it's further proof that Einstein was right. But it has staggering implications for Human exploration of the cosmos.

http://www.geekwire.com/2016/as-big-as-the-higgs-stephen-hawking-says-gravitational-waves-will-revolutionize-astronomy/
One of every five Americans you meet has a mental illness of some sort. Many, many, of our veteran's suffer from mental illness like PTSD now also. Help if ya can. :) http://www.projectsemicolon.org/share-your-story.html
And no you won't find my "story" there. They don't allow science fiction. :)

walkstall

Quote from: daidalos on February 16, 2016, 04:18:10 PM
Walks ya beat me to it.  :lol: I had Meant to post the same the other day. This is big news, not only because it's further proof that Einstein was right. But it has staggering implications for Human exploration of the cosmos.

http://www.geekwire.com/2016/as-big-as-the-higgs-stephen-hawking-says-gravitational-waves-will-revolutionize-astronomy/

I live about 75 miles for Hanford Wash.  I had an uncle that work there for 46 year after getting out of the Army.
A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation.- James Freeman Clarke

Always remember "Feelings Aren't Facts."

SalemCat

It's interesting.

Human Beings have major obstacles facing them when it comes to Space Travel.

Even our EYES can be damaged - permanently - by low gravity.

http://bionews-tx.com/news/2013/10/28/new-research-reveals-low-gravity-in-space-impacts-astronauts-eyesight/

And for long flights, is Hibernation even possible ?

We may be stuck on Earth - which truth be told - could be vastly improved with some courage (and less Muslims).

Hoofer

Gravitational Waves are demonstrated 2am in any pub or bar... watch a guy try to make it to the bathroom, beer enhances the effects of gravitational waves - he kinda bobs right & left, up and down, fighting those darn gravitational waves!

The song, "Tequila makes her clothes fall off" - even cowboys understand Gravitational waves.

There! - now you understand Gravitational Wave theory.   :wink:
All animals are created equal; Some just take longer to cook.   Survival is keeping an eye on those around you...

daidalos

Quote from: SalemCat on February 16, 2016, 08:37:42 PM
It's interesting.

Human Beings have major obstacles facing them when it comes to Space Travel.

Even our EYES can be damaged - permanently - by low gravity.

http://bionews-tx.com/news/2013/10/28/new-research-reveals-low-gravity-in-space-impacts-astronauts-eyesight/

And for long flights, is Hibernation even possible ?

We may be stuck on Earth - which truth be told - could be vastly improved with some courage (and less Muslims).
If we are, then our civilization is in real serious trouble. Because this:

https://youtu.be/Y8Ij9xboreA

Will happen again. It's only a matter of time.

In fact just last year just such a disaster nearly happened.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpmXyJrs7iU

Had the asteroid not blown up way up in the atmosphere, and instead impacted the ground the kinetic energy released would have taken the entire city out.

Eventually, assuming that our species survives long enough, our star is going to die. When it does it is going to end everything on Earth, including possibly Earth itself. The only answer to both the problem of celestial impacts wiping us all out, as well as the death of the sun, is moving on out there to a new solar system.

One of every five Americans you meet has a mental illness of some sort. Many, many, of our veteran's suffer from mental illness like PTSD now also. Help if ya can. :) http://www.projectsemicolon.org/share-your-story.html
And no you won't find my "story" there. They don't allow science fiction. :)

SalemCat

Everyone and everything will eventually die - BUT - then another Big Bang will occur, and it will all start over again.

Late-For-Lunch

The really fascinating thing to me about this is the possibility that gravity is like all of the other forms of energy in other ways. For instance, each time the quantum (smallest unit) form of a force of nature was discovered, it resulted in major technological breakthroughs which continue to this day.

When the quantum form of electromagnetic energy was discovered (photons) lasers and CCDs (digital cameras) were invented. Also exotic critters like virtual lenses and solar-pumped lasers .  When the quantum form of matter was discovered, (atoms and the strong nuclear force particles known as gluons) we got the atomic bomb, NMR scanners, and gravity detection machines to map structures below the ground.

The thing is this, if the wave form of gravity can be blocked the way other forces can be blocked (and there is some evidence that this may be possible at the quantum level with experiments in what is called the Casimir Effect) some pretty amazing things may be possible.
For instance, without gravity in the equation, it is theoretically possible to accelerate to infinite velocity (i.e., infinite multiples of the speed of light). Also there are other tricks such as anti-gravity machinery which might be used for many things.

There are also unfortunately some very unpleasant possibilities for weapons or accidents. For instance, the reason that the sun doesn't explode is that an equilibrium has been reached between the explosive thermonuclear forces raging in the heart and corona of Sol and the gravity field that contains it. If the gravity field along the surface of the sun were destabilized over even a small percentage of the surface by even 0.001% the sun would explode and destroy the Earth along with the other inner planets, and the other planets would likely be blown out into deep space and become frozen ice-balls of gas hurtling between the stars forever. Think of a giant ball of water that is held in place by a magical force field but not solid matter containing it. If that force field were to suddenly fail, the liquid within would no longer be contained. The only difference is that the "water" being contained by the force-field of the sun is trillions of times more explosive than the most powerful thermonuclear weapon every made and if the force-field collapses BOOM!

This scenario is made even more disturbing because Carl Sagan hypothesized that the solution to the Fermi Paradox was that every technological civilization eventually discovered what he called the Shiny Red Button - some avenue of scientific experimentation that is so irresistible that no civilization can resist following it and the result is that it always ends in the destruction of the civilization.

Since we don't really know much about gravity, it would be wise to learn a lot more about it before we started experimenting with things that might potentially set up resonances or wave-propagation which might reach the sun because to disturb that  delicate bubble is to trigger a bomb that is big enough to literally destroy everything and everything else.
Get Out of the Way and Leave Me Alone (Nods to General Teebone)