what are gravitational waves? Gravitational waves are ripples in space-time and act like ripples on the surface of a pond. Generated massive objects moving through or colliding in space, the universe is thought to be buzzing with gravitational waves. Gravitational wave experiments such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) have set out to detect the slight change in laser phase as a gravitational wave slightly alters space-time, but have yet to turn up definitive evidence of these ripples passing through local space. There are, however,indirectmeans to detect gravitational waves. For example, astronomers have detected the slight slowdown of orbiting white dwarf star binaries; as the stars orbit one another, they stir up space-time, producing gravitational waves. These waves carry energy away from the binary system, thus slowing their orbits down. ###Vishal singh
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 16:14:23 +0000
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