Tell me more ×
Physics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for active researchers, academics and students of physics. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 2 down vote favorite

Is the detection of gravity waves a reality with nowdays technology ? Are there recent news ?

share|improve this question
I see there was a question very similar to this. Sorry. It looks like there are no (detectable) gravity waves yet, out there. Correct ? – user6090 Dec 19 '11 at 20:55
1  
If there were, it would be covered in the news by a bunch of journalists who have no clue what they're talking about. – endolith Dec 20 '11 at 20:53
Related: physics.stackexchange.com/q/10161/2451 – Qmechanic♦ Aug 30 '12 at 6:12

2 Answers

up vote 2 down vote accepted

Unfortunately gravitational waves have not been detected yet.

There is a number of Earth-bound detectors planned and already in operation (e.g. LIGO, Geo 600, Virgo, Nanograv and others). As for space-borne detectors, ESA works on Next Gravitational-Wave Observatory after NASA pulled out of LISA project in April 2011 due to funding problems. Joint NASA/ESA mission, LISA Pathfinder will launch in June 2013 testing technologies to be used by NGO.

Keep an eye on the pages and blogs of these projects if you'd like to stay up to date on their progress. Also, if gravitational waves are detected, the discovery will no doubt be announced here and even here.

share|improve this answer
@Zalcman: thank you for your comprehensive answer. I will keep an eye on the institutions you listed. – user6090 Dec 20 '11 at 9:37
up vote 1 down vote

You mean besides PSR B1913+16? Click here if you want to know more.

share|improve this answer
This is the work for which Hulse and Taylor received Nobel prize back in 1993. It is only indirect evidence for the existence of gravitational waves and it can hardly be called "news". – Adam Zalcman Dec 20 '11 at 19:47
@AdamZalcman, I'll grant that this discovery isn't newsy, but by what principle do you separate direct from indirect evidence? Direct seems to imply that a process or observation in Nature can be subverted to our control. To the extent this is the demarcation, any evidence from LIGO would also fail. It isn't any more "direct" than looking at this binary system. – bwkaplan Dec 21 '11 at 15:51
Nobody has so far directly detected gravitational waves. What we have is a binary neutron star which as far as we can tell seems to be losing energy in a manner consistent with the emission of gravitational waves. LIGO will detect the waves by allowing us to observe directly the oscillatory change in distances between objects due rippling of spacetime by a passing gravitational wave. – Adam Zalcman Dec 21 '11 at 20:11

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.