Herbert Einstein Proved Right As Gravitational Ripples Or Waves Are Detected In Space

by Benson Agoha | Science

* Gravitational Ripples (Waves) caused by the collision of
two black holes. (Credit: Cambridge Research)

It was the breaking news that changed  the way astronomy is thought and understood.

100 years ago the roving mind of Herbert Einstein wondered what would happen when two black holes collide in spacetime. That he decided would cause `gravitational ripples or waves'.

But what cause black holes in the first place? Well, according to NASA black holes are caused when the centre of a very big star falls in upon itself, as it were collapses, causing a supernova - a huge explosion capable of blasting parts of the exploding star into space.

So when two black holes collide, Einstein thought that such collision can cause gravitation ripples or waves in space. But it has taken 100 years for his conclusion to be proved right.

In an article by Cambridge Research Thursday, a team of international researchers, including a PhD Student from the University of Cambridge's Institute of Astronomy said they have observed ripples in the fabric of spacetime called gravitational waves. And more, these waves were observed arriving at our earth from a cataclysmic event in the distant universe.

"This confirms a major prediction of Albert Einstein’s 1915 general theory of relativity and opens an unprecedented new window onto the cosmos", the report said.

The gravitational waves were detected on 14 September 2015 at 09:51 UK time by both LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory) detectors in Louisiana and Washington State in the US.

They originated from two black holes, each around 30 times the mass of the Sun and located more than 1.3 billion light years from Earth, coalescing to form a single, even more massive black hole.

"I feel incredibly lucky to be part of the team - this discovery will change the way we do astronomy," said Christopher Moore a PhD Student from the University of Cambridge who was part of the team.

According to Professor Stephen Hawking, the Dennis Stanton Avery and Sally Tsui Wong-Avery Director of Research at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge “The discovery of gravitational waves by the LIGO team is an incredible achievement” adding “It is the first observation of gravitational waves as predicted by Einstein and will allow us new insights into our universe."

"The gravitational waves were released from the collision of two black holes, the properties of which are consistent with predictions I made in Cambridge in the 1970s, such as the black hole area and uniqueness theorems."

"We can expect this observation to be the first of many as LIGO sensitivity increases, keeping us all busy with many further surprises.”

* To read the full Cambridge report, click on [ Gravitational Waves ].