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Article: Prepare the wobblescopes.(instruments that can sense gravitational waves in space)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- December 7, 1996
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THEY are world-shattering events that pass unnoticed; catastrophes that unfold quietly in remote places. Nobody has ever seen, nor is ever likely to see, the wrenching turmoil of two black holes in collision.
Given the nature of black holes-accumulations of matter so dense that not even light can escape from their gravitational fields-this is not surprising. But since such events are invisible, physicists hope for the next best thing: to feel them. Cataclysms such as colliding black holes give off gravitational waves. These are, in effect, ripples in space. And several group of scientists are building a new generation of enormous instruments that might be able to ...