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"The existence of such [gravity] waves predicted by Einstein’s theory of general relativity was beautifully confirmed by the observations of the binary pulsar P
by AceJohnny2 12y ago
"The existence of such [gravity] waves predicted by Einstein’s theory of general relativity was beautifully confirmed by the observations of the binary pulsar PSR 1913+16 by Russel Hulse and Joseph Taylor (who were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1993)"
Really? Science articles (SciAm etc...) had led me to believe that gravity waves had yet to be detected.
- qwerta 12y agoIn this case two neutron stars were orbiting each other. Relativity predicts they orbit would be unstable due to energy loss caused by gravity waves. Observation confirmed decaying orbit, we have not actually observed the gravity waves them selfs.
- antognini 12y agoGravitational waves have not been directly detected by laboratory instruments here on Earth. The LIGO and VIRGO collaborations are looking for gravitational waves by using large laser interferometers, but haven't detected any yet. The article is referring to the first indirect detection of gravitational waves. Binary stars emit gravitational waves which carry energy away from the system. The loss of energy causes the two stars to spiral into a closer orbit until eventually they merge. Using general relativity, you can predict how the semi-major axis will change as a function of time [1]. Hulse & Taylor measured the change in semi-major axis in a binary pulsar and found that it matched the predictions of general relativity. [1] http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1964PhRv..136.1224P http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1964PhRv..136.1224P