Detecting gravitational waves is a necessary step to fully validate Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity, but researchers have been unable to detect the ripples in space-time. Previously, astronomers have searched for the waves by searching in space, but a new study suggests that a more fruitful search can be found in time.
Gravitational waves would have an effect on the time-keeping abilities of any clocks they encountered in space. However, until very recently, clocks that were accurate enough to measure these ripples (and not have the loss be attributed to the clocks losing time on their own) did not exist. A new experimental clock known as the “optical lattice” could measure minor dilation in time after being launched into orbits around the sun at varying distances.
According to a new paper by Avi Loeb at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Dani Maoz at Tel Aviv University, the “optical lattice” clocks could search for waves in a much more cost-effective way than planned systems such as the eLisa observatory slated to begin searching for gravitational waves in 2034.
“We’re talking about one part in a million trillion in timing precision,” Loeb said. “To detect that kind of change, you need a clock that will neither gain nor lose only one tenth of a second even if it were to operate for 4.5 billion years, or the entire age of the Earth.”
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