The finding of Gravitational Wave for the first time

By Guangyao Q

After Albert Einstein published the general theory of relativity in 1915, this theory had been tested for many times in different ways. Under the support of the strong evidences from experiments, people have been shocked a lot by this great scientific theory. After decades, people starts to accept that the world is not quite the same as the daily instincts, slowly.

The correctness of the general theory of relativity is no doubt. Gravitational Wave, a very important hypothesis of the general theory of relativity, had not been found for a long time. The scientists, who conciser the theory as the Bible, are insistent about the exist of the Gravitational Wave and spend decades on find it.

What is Gravitational Wave?

Gravitational-wave are distortions or 'ripples' in the fabric of space-time caused by some of the most violent and energetic in the universe. For instant, the earth is surround by Sun, but it is not doing the circular motion, which is caused by attractive force. In the space of the general theory of relativity, the earth is doing the linear speed motion without any force because the space has been curved by Sun.

Why Gravitational Wave is so hard to find?

The deflection of the space is so small. The defection is about 0.00000000000000000000001(1e-23) meter. Every one kilometer will have the change of 1e-19 meter. What does the number mean?

The size of the atom is 1e-10 meter.

The radius of the nuclear is 1e-15 meter.

Such an small number! Even scientists was not sure is people can find deflation for such tiny scale, but LIGO did it after one hundred years that the general theory of relativity was published.

Why the finding of Gravitational Wave is so important?

Spacetime tells matter how to move; Matter tells space how to curve. The motion of the matter depends on the properties of the space. In other hand, if matter exists, space will be curved.

By using gravitational force to detect the curve, people can understand the things that are happening inside the matter. Now, people start to have the superpower to feel the universe.  

Thanks for reading.

Reference: https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/page/ligos-ifo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_wave

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein

https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/page/what-is-ligo