Scientific milestone as gravitational waves are discovered

Scientists have said they have for the first time detected gravitational waves, a landmark discovery in physics which may allow us to gain insight into the nature of the early universe.

Picture Credit: ITV News

Predicted by Albert Einstein a century ago, gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of spacetime, which move away from huge objects at the speed of light. The researchers said they detected gravitational waves coming from two black holes - extraordinarily dense objects whose existence also was foreseen by Einstein - that orbited one another, spiraled inward and smashed together.

 

Professor Stephen Hawking said the discovery could "revolutionise astronomy" as he congratulated the scientists on their work. They said the waves were the product of a collision between two black holes 30 times as massive as the Sun, located 1.3 billion light years from Earth.

Gravitational waves provide a completely new way of looking at the universe. The ability to detect them has the potential to revolutionise astronomy. This discovery is the first detection of a black hole binary system and the first observation of black holes merging.

ITV News