LIGO PROJECT- SCI & TECH
News: Gravitational wave detector LIGO is back online after 3 years of
upgrades
What is in the news?
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Recently, After a
three-year hiatus, scientists in the U.S. have just turned on detectors capable
of measuring gravitational waves – tiny ripples in space itself that travel
through the universe.
Key takeaways from the news:
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Since 2020, the Laser
Interferometric Gravitational-Wave Observatory – commonly known as LIGO – has
been sitting dormant while it underwent some exciting upgrades.
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These improvements will
significantly boost the sensitivity of LIGO and should allow the facility to
observe more-distant objects that produce smaller ripples in spacetime.
Multi messenger astronomy:
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By detecting more events
that create gravitational waves, there will be more opportunities for
astronomers to observe the light produced by those same events.
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Seeing an event through
multiple channels of information, an approach called multi-messenger astronomy,
provides astronomers rare and coveted opportunities to learn about physics far
beyond the realm of any laboratory testing.
|
Theory of general relativity: ● According
to Einstein’s theory of general relativity, mass and energy warp the shape of
space and time. The bending of spacetime determines how objects move in
relation to one another – what people experience as gravity. |
Gravitational waves:
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Gravitational
waves are created when massive objects like black holes or neutron stars merge
with one another, producing sudden, large changes in space.
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The process of space
warping and flexing sends ripples across the universe like a wave across a
still pond.
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These waves travel out in
all directions from a disturbance, minutely bending space as they do so and
ever so slightly changing the distance between objects in their way.
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A strong gravitational
wave passing through the Milky Way may only change the diameter of the entire
galaxy by three feet (one meter).
Laser Interferometer Gravitational Observations:
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LIGO comprises two
separate observatories, with one located in Hanford, Washington, and the other in Livingston, Louisiana.
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Each observatory is
shaped like a giant L with two, 2.5-mile-long
(four-kilometer-long) arms extending out from the center of the facility at 90
degrees to each other.
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It was joined by Virgo and a new Japanese
observatory – the Kamioka Gravitational Wave Detector, or KAGRA.
LIGO India project:
About:
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The project aims to
detect gravitational waves from the universe.
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The Indian LIGO would
have two perpendicularly placed 4-km long vacuum chambers, that constitute the
most sensitive interferometers in the world.
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It is expected to begin
scientific runs from 2030.
Location:
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Maharashtra
Build by:
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It will be built by the Department of Atomic Energy and the
Department of Science and Technology, with a memorandum of understanding
(MoU) with the National Science Foundation, the US.