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Gravitational Waves

BeethovensPianoBeethovensPiano Posts: 11,689
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in General Discussion #1
http://www.universetoday.com/110353/rumors-flying-nearly-as-fast-as-their-subject-have-gravitational-waves-been-detected/#ixzz2w94jBSFI
Last week the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) stated rather nonchalantly that they will be hosting a press conference on Monday, March 17th, to announce a “major discovery.” Without a potential topic for journalists to muse on, this was as melodramatic as it got.

But then the Guardian posted an article on the subject and the rumors went into overdrive. The speculation is this: a U.S. team is on the verge of confirming they have detected primordial gravitational waves — ripples in the fabric of spacetime that carry echoes of the big bang nearly 14 billion years ago.

If there is evidence for gravitational waves, it will be a landmark discovery, ultimately changing the face of physics
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    pugamopugamo Posts: 18,039
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    #2
    What does this mean then? Will we be able to time travel? Can I become 17 again?
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    BeethovensPianoBeethovensPiano Posts: 11,689
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    #3
    pugamo wrote: »
    What does this mean then? Will we be able to time travel? Can I become 17 again?

    Possibly
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    pugamopugamo Posts: 18,039
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    #4
    BeethovensPiano wrote: »
    Possibly

    Great. No need to go on that diet then, I'll just hop in my time machine and I'll be 8 stone in a flash.
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    bazzaroobazzaroo Posts: 6,848
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    #5
    I'm waxing down my gravitational surf-board as we speak.
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,990
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    #6
    bazzaroo wrote: »
    I'm waxing down my gravitational surf-board as we speak.

    :D:D ¡Ay, Caramba!
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    Keyser_Soze1Keyser_Soze1 Posts: 25,182
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    #7
    Very interesting stuff.

    I look forwarding to reading the results. :)
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    phylo_roadkingphylo_roadking Posts: 21,339
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    #8
    I'm waxing down my gravitational surf-board as we speak.

    We get the general idea, we just don't need to know your pet name for it...
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    MandarkMandark Posts: 47,988
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    #9
    It would show for the first time how gravity works at the quantum (sub atomic) level allowing us to draw up a super unification theory for the four fundamental universal forces - gravity, electro-magnetism and the strong and weak nuclear forces. So far we only understand how gravity works on the massive cosmological scale - planets orbiting stars, moons orbiting planets etc...
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    Si_CreweSi_Crewe Posts: 40,202
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    #10
    Cool.

    My understanding of this stuff is minimal but it seems like one of the fundamental assumptions in physics is that the laws of physics have always remained constant.
    We only estimate the age of the universe to be 14bn years because of the distance light has traveled and the rate galaxies are expanding etc but that relies on the laws of physics always being constant in the past.

    Seems like a study of gravitational waves would allow us another measurement which we can use to fine-tune our estimates about all this stuff.
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