Five things you need to know about gravitational waves!

New Delhi: Scientists on Thursday announced that they had detected evidence of gravitational waves. The discovery has been hailed as a milestone in quest to understand the cosmos. Here are some useful information about gravitational waves:

 

• Gravitational waves are ripples that travel at the speed of light through the fabric of space-time.
• Albert Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves in his general theory of relativity a century ago, and scientists have been attempting to detect them for 50 years.
• On Thursday, February 11, 2016, physicists from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) announced that they had detected gravitational waves from a black hole collision, proving Einstein was right. The LIGO detections represent a much-awaited first step toward opening a whole new branch of astrophysics

 

• Prior to the direct detection of gravitational waves, there was indirect evidence for their existence. For example, measurements of the Hulse–Taylor binary system suggest that gravitational waves are more than a hypothetical concept.
• The historic detection of gravitational waves may open a new era of astronomy in which gravitational waves are tools for studying the most mysterious and exotic objects in the universe.