The first direct detection of gravitational waves is now widely expected to be announced on February 11 by the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). Using LIGO's twin giant detectors—one in Livingston, Louisiana, and the other in Hanford, Washington—researchers are said to have measured ripples in space-time produced by a collision between two black holes.
Such an announcement would vindicate Albert Einstein’s prediction of gravitational waves, which he made almost exactly 100 years ago as part of his general theory of relativity—but it would also have much further significance. As vibrations in the fabric of space-time, gravitational waves are often compared to sound, and have even been converted into sound snippets. In effect, gravitational-wave telescopes allow scientists to ‘hear’ phenomena at the same time as light-based telescopes ‘see’ them. (Already, members of LIGO and its smaller counterpart Virgo in Pisa, Italy have set up a system for alerting communities working on other types of telescope).
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