8 ms·

How do the detectors work? In my mind they don't make physical sense. They're saying the distance between the mirrors changes, but I don't understand how that's

How do the detectors work? In my mind they don't make physical sense. They're saying the distance between the mirrors changes, but I don't understand how that's possible in this context. Let's say a gravitational wave compresses space. To someone inside that compressed space, there should be no noticeable difference. Light will still flow the same way through the compressed space at the same speed relative to the compression. Matter will behave identically, because both light and matter are part of the fabric of that space. As I understand it, the only way the mirror lengths could change is if space is created or destroyed. If that doesn't make sense, consider the 2d analogy of drawings living on paper. Assume also that light moves only along the surface of the paper. If you bend the paper, the light will bend with it. But when you bend the paper, the creatures living on the paper can't know it's bent. The fabric of the paper is still identical. Even if some of the paper gets compressed in one direction, it will still have the same amount of particles, so any light travelling through there will hit the same amount of resistance. And stretching the paper, even if you're a drawing on the part being stretched, would have no effect. A 2d creature looking at something 1 foot away, even if the paper is stretched to 10 feet, won't see any difference, because the fabric light travels through is also stretched. The only way I can see this making sense is if light travels independent of the fabric of space, but it's my understanding that light travels through it, not independent of it?

yosyp 11y ago
I think the crucial detail you are missing from the article is this: "According to the equations physicists have settled on, gravitational waves would compress space in one direction and stretch it in another as they traveled outward." LIGO is two sets of 2 L-shaped antennas spread far apart on the globe, so that we can compare the compression of space in orthogonal directions and measure the very short delay between the gravitational wave hitting the first detector followed by the second. In this case, that difference was 7 milliseconds, which is also consistent with the speed of gravitational waves (also the speed of light)
- stevebmark 11y ago
  I still don't understand. It doesn't matter where the compression happens, because it should be undetectable to any light/matter that's fundamentally a part of that space? If one of the arms gets compressed - the matter will be compressed too, so light still has the same density and amount of space to travel through?
  - vickychijwani 11y ago
    Check the comic posted by AdrianN, it explains what you're missing. Basically light takes longer to travel stretched space (but matter does not, as you correctly said).
    - stevebmark 11y ago
      I see. If that's true, then light travels through a higher dimension, and this is definitive proof of at least a fourth spatial dimension. Otherwise there would be nothing for the 3d space to ripple through, or for light to travel through. I'm surprised I haven't heard that light travels independent of 3d space compression before. That would also imply that if you enter a black hole with your feet at the bottom, you would see them visibly stretched far away from you (noticeably? I'm not sure) because light would take longer in the distortion to reach your eyes.
      - ajkjk 11y ago
        I don't really know how you jumped to 'higher dimensions' from that.
      - enugu 11y ago
        Doubts about higher dimensions and general relativity is common and a crucial point, so I dont think you should get downvoted. Some points which might be helpful. We have a way, using the concept of a manifold, for ants on a surface like a sphere or a dougnut to figure this out without appealing to a third dimension. One could imagining say ant geographers making maps of portions of the surface, and noting how common regions covered in two different maps have different labels/coordinates. One can then figure out a definition of when two collections of maps(called an atlas) are equivalent and then show that an atlas for a plane, sphere, doughnut are mutually nonequivalent. But all this is topology and involves global considerations. What is relevant here is local curvature. We can also do this appealing to an extra dimensions. Now, you used the example of a folded paper and you are correct that for an ant on the surface, the curvature is indetectable. The curvature of the paper is extrinsic and not intrinsic. We say that is isometric to flat space, and its curvature tensor is 0. On the other hand, if the ant was on the surface of a ball, it could figure out this curvature intrinsically, for instance, by measuring sum of the angles of a triangle or the distance between parallel lines keeps shrinking. Not only is this intrinsic, but it is locally measurable. One cant have maps, even for a small area of the earth's surface, without some kind of distortion because of this intrinsic curvature. An additional complexity - in GR, spacetime is curved rather that just space. Also, dont take 'curvature' too literally, it is just a way of measuring deviation from numbers that you would get in the flat scenario. For more read up on manifolds, riemann curvature. John Baez had some essays on the geometric meaning of the curvature tensor in terms of the volume of a ball relative to the usual flat Euclidean case.

yosyp 11y ago

I think the crucial detail you are missing from the article is this: "According to the equations physicists have settled on, gravitational waves would compress space in one direction and stretch it in another as they traveled outward." LIGO is two sets of 2 L-shaped antennas spread far apart on the globe, so that we can compare the compression of space in orthogonal directions and measure the very short delay between the gravitational wave hitting the first detector followed by the second. In this case, that difference was 7 milliseconds, which is also consistent with the speed of gravitational waves (also the speed of light)

stevebmark 11y ago
I still don't understand. It doesn't matter where the compression happens, because it should be undetectable to any light/matter that's fundamentally a part of that space? If one of the arms gets compressed - the matter will be compressed too, so light still has the same density and amount of space to travel through?
- vickychijwani 11y ago
  Check the comic posted by AdrianN, it explains what you're missing. Basically light takes longer to travel stretched space (but matter does not, as you correctly said).
  - stevebmark 11y ago
    I see. If that's true, then light travels through a higher dimension, and this is definitive proof of at least a fourth spatial dimension. Otherwise there would be nothing for the 3d space to ripple through, or for light to travel through. I'm surprised I haven't heard that light travels independent of 3d space compression before. That would also imply that if you enter a black hole with your feet at the bottom, you would see them visibly stretched far away from you (noticeably? I'm not sure) because light would take longer in the distortion to reach your eyes.
    - ajkjk 11y ago
      I don't really know how you jumped to 'higher dimensions' from that.
    - enugu 11y ago
      Doubts about higher dimensions and general relativity is common and a crucial point, so I dont think you should get downvoted. Some points which might be helpful. We have a way, using the concept of a manifold, for ants on a surface like a sphere or a dougnut to figure this out without appealing to a third dimension. One could imagining say ant geographers making maps of portions of the surface, and noting how common regions covered in two different maps have different labels/coordinates. One can then figure out a definition of when two collections of maps(called an atlas) are equivalent and then show that an atlas for a plane, sphere, doughnut are mutually nonequivalent. But all this is topology and involves global considerations. What is relevant here is local curvature. We can also do this appealing to an extra dimensions. Now, you used the example of a folded paper and you are correct that for an ant on the surface, the curvature is indetectable. The curvature of the paper is extrinsic and not intrinsic. We say that is isometric to flat space, and its curvature tensor is 0. On the other hand, if the ant was on the surface of a ball, it could figure out this curvature intrinsically, for instance, by measuring sum of the angles of a triangle or the distance between parallel lines keeps shrinking. Not only is this intrinsic, but it is locally measurable. One cant have maps, even for a small area of the earth's surface, without some kind of distortion because of this intrinsic curvature. An additional complexity - in GR, spacetime is curved rather that just space. Also, dont take 'curvature' too literally, it is just a way of measuring deviation from numbers that you would get in the flat scenario. For more read up on manifolds, riemann curvature. John Baez had some essays on the geometric meaning of the curvature tensor in terms of the volume of a ball relative to the usual flat Euclidean case.