MVP ARCHIVE SCIENCE | Measuring the Universe Phase 03-07 : Gravitational Waves - Capturing the Ripples of Space-Time
Gravitational Waves - Capturing the Ripples of Space-Time
Gravitational Waves — Measuring the Universe Through Space-Time
For a long time, humanity has observed the universe through "light."
Visible light, radio waves, infrared, X-rays, and gamma rays.
All of these are electromagnetic waves and have been the primary means of understanding the universe.
However, in 2015, humanity succeeded for the first time in observing the universe using a "non-light method." That is gravitational waves.
Gravitational waves are minute distortions in space-time itself that occur when objects with massive weight move violently.
In 1916, Albert Einstein predicted their existence within his general theory of relativity.
However, these distortions are extremely small, and for over 100 years, they could not be directly observed.
The turning point was LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory).
In 2015, LIGO detected for the first time in the world gravitational waves generated by the merger of two black holes that occurred approximately 1.3 billion light-years away.
The laser interferometer uses laser beams traveling back and forth within a 4km vacuum tunnel to measure the expansion and contraction of space-time, which is far smaller than an atomic nucleus.
Through this observation, humanity has acquired a new means of observation: not "seeing the universe," but "listening to the vibrations of the universe."
Since then, not only black hole mergers but also neutron star mergers have been observed via gravitational waves, and by observing them simultaneously with light, "multi-messenger astronomy," which analyzes cosmic phenomena through multiple methods, has developed significantly.
In Measurement Series Phase 03, gravitational waves symbolize the "technology to measure space-time itself."
The objects humanity measures have expanded from the Earth to the solar system, to galaxies, and to the universe.
And now, the objects being measured are not just celestial bodies.
We have reached space-time itself, which shapes the universe.
Gravitational waves are the quietest vibrations emitted by the universe and are a new cosmic yardstick acquired by humanity.
The fact that we can now observe the universe, which could not be seen with light alone, through the fluctuations of space-time has become a turning point that greatly expands the scope of human perception.
