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LIGO Up And Running, But Gravity Waves Remain Elusive
Washington DC (SPX) Jan 10, 2006 Scientists working on the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory said Monday the facility has reached its target detection sensitivity, but the goal of finding the elusive phenomena known as gravity waves remains as elusive as ever. "So far, there has been no direct detection," LIGO team member Nergis Mavalvala of MIT told SpaceDaily.com . The twin linked facilities, one in Hanford, Washington, and the other in Livingston, Louisiana, began a planned one-year continuous operation � the fifth and longest duration so far � last November. The instruments are able to resolve sudden distortions in space-time as small as 10 -18 meter, or one-thousandth the diameter of a proton. But even such astounding sensitivity is not sufficient to catch most cosmological events that could cause gravity waves. That should change, Mavalvala told reporters at the American Astronomical Association's annual meeting, with the installation of LIGO's next generation of instruments. Where the current configuration can detect only the "brightest" of events, such as the head-on collision of two super massive black holes, the Advanced LIGO package � funding for which is scheduled to be added to the National Science Foundation's budget in fiscal year 2008 � is expected to produce a tenfold improvement in sensitivity. "The increased sensitivity is firmly set by the astrophysics that we know today," Mavalvala said, adding that Advanced LIGO should improve the chances of gravity-wave detection by a factor of 1,000. This enhanced sensitivity, she added, will allow LIGO to detect the space-time implications of cosmic events such as the collisions of smaller black holes, or the absorption by black holes of neutron stars, events estimated to occur somewhere in the universe as often as once per day. In particular, the team wants to observe a black-hole collision, said the NSF's Michael Turner, who oversees funding of LIGO. Such an event, he told reporters, has little or nothing to do with astrophysics or hydrodynamics. "It's a clear problem of relativity," he said. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links LIGO SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Space Technology News - Applications and Research
NGC Chosen To Proceed With Developing Solid-State Laser Technology For Military Applications
Redondo Beach CA (SPX) Jan 09, 2006Northrop Grumman Corporation has been selected to develop "military-grade," solid-state laser technology that is expected to pave the way for the U.S. military to incorporate high-energy laser systems across all services, including ships, manned and unmanned aircraft, and ground vehicles. |
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