Gravitational Waves and the General Theory of Relativity

A diagram showing the birth of the universe and its Gravitational Wave from its birth to this day.

What is gravitational waves? How are they important to the study of the Universe?

Gravitational waves are the waves or ripples of space and time. According to the Einstein’s general theory of relativity, gravitational waves are the bending of space and time and it was created when the universe was created. Gravitational waves moved as fast as the speed of light and it is getting longer and longer as the Universe expands, that’s why it is too rare to and difficult to detect one. In order to detect this waves we must find 2 supermassive black holes that will merge.

2 Black holes rotating to each other and on the verge of merging to bigger black hole and creates gravitational waves as it rotates to each other.

The merge of the 2 black holes will make a disturbance in the fabric of space and time creating a ripple which is called the gravitational waves. The waves will take billion years to reach earth since it is only moving to the speed of light and the most merging supermassive black holes tends to be billions of light years away. How does scientist detect Gravitational Waves? Scientist use LIGO or Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory to detect those. It is basically uses lasers with exact precision of angles and distance and use that light to make another wave which when a gravitational wave pass through, it will shift the wave generated and that will trigger a detection of gravitational waves.

A Diagram on how LIGO works and how it can detect gravitational wave. In figure 1 — shows how a regular LIGO works without gravitational wave passing through. figure 2 — shows how LIGO works when gravitational wave passed through.

There are two observatories in the United States, one in Washington and one in Louisiana. When scientists has discovered gravitational waves, it completed the long search of gravitational waves as well as completing the theory of Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity which gravitational waves was predicted and 100 years later it was discovered and confirmed.

I feel happy for Albert Einstein and his contribution to Modern Astronomy and Physics and now his work has been completed and scientists can now use his theory to understand the universe and how it works. Way to go Einstein!