Gravitational Waves: A Hundred Years Struggle

Last year, on February 11 the team of LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave-Observatory) the USA gave humanity a great discovery which gave scientists a portal to investigate this huge universe in a totally different way (Cofield, 2016). This was the day when the LIGO team announced the discovery of “Gravitational Waves” and we must say a great tribute to 100 years of General Relativity. These waves formed when two black holes circulated each other and finally collided. The reason why this was a huge discovery is it changed science, it nullified some very old concepts and proved some new. Although the possibility of gravitational waves was discussed by Oliver Heaviside in 1893 since gravity and electricity obeys inverse square law (O, 1893), Henri Poincaré in 1905 also proposed the concept of gravitational waves using Lorentz Transformation (Poincare, 1905), but it was properly described by Einstein in 1916 based on his theory of General Relativity. Since then scientists have indulged themselves in finding this phenomenon of “Gravitational Waves”. 

Two Black Holes circulating and eventually colliding with each other

Gravitational waves are ripples in the curvature of space-time that propagate as waves with the speed of light (Einstein, 1937). This space-time curvature turbulence can be thought of a stretched four-dimensional fabric with planets and stars as big balls on them. Hence when this mass accelerates in the space-time ripples generates on this four-dimensional fabric and gravitational waves are generated. But this phenomenon is not so simple as it looks. We do know that this concept is based upon Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity and we have always studied gravity per Newtonian Physics. But General Relativity and Newtonian Physics negate each other as there is no concept of gravitational waves in Newtonian Physics but General Relativity explains gravitational waves. Hence what we used to study or have studied may go in vain due to this new discovery. While Newtonian Physics was famous because of its simplicity to explain large objects but after this discovery, General Relativity has snatched this from Newtonian Physics as well. 

The other thing that made this discovery a more of a miracle is, now we can study the geometry of black holes and interactions of black holes with each other. Hence this mystery of Cosmos will also be cracked soon. Furthermore, as I have already explained that gravitational waves are generated by a body in acceleration it does not mean we can detect these waves from any accelerated body. It’s because their frequency is so small that it is impossible to construct a machine that can spin so fast to measure these waves. Even waves generated by orbiting Planets also cannot be detected so far. That was the reason it took so many years to detect it. At this moment LIGO can detect waves generated from huge catastrophic events like Supernova or Collision of two Black Holes and note here previously there was no concept of colliding black holes previously. Even Executive Director of LIGO Team David Reitze, of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), said at a conference in Washington D.C

What's going to come now is we're going to hear more things, and no doubt we'll hear things that we expected to hear … but we will also hear things that we never expected.  (Cofield, 2016)

LIGO CENTER: The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is a large-scale observatory to detect gravitational waves and to develop gravitational-wave observations located in Louisiana USA

Now if we take this concept further and relate it with Quantum Mechanics we can get some new great results. Let’s analyze these waves in Wave-Particle duality, so Gravitational waves should also travel in particles named “Force Carrier” or “Graviton”. If we can discover this particle, then relate it with General Relativity, we can create another theory and relating it to String Theory (Which may explain Interior of a Black Hole in Future) and by submerging all three of these. Hence it all points towards Grand Unified Theory which is a big part of the Theory of Everything (that fully explains and links together all physical aspects of the universe). (Hawking, 2006)
Today we are the first step towards a greater future for Theoretical Physics and Gravitational Waves may be thought of a “Raw Material” as it may be of no significance use. But it will be a gateway towards exploring the whole COSMOS and beyond and someday we will.



References:

Cofield, C. (2016, February 12). Gravitational Waves: What Their Discovery Means for Science and Humanity. p. 6. Retrieved from https://www.space.com/31922-gravitational-waves-detection-what-it-means.html

Einstein, A. (1937). "On gravitational waves". Journal of the Franklin Institute. On Gravitational Waves, 43-54. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016003237905830?via%3Dihub

Hawking, S. W. (2006). The Theory of Everything. Phoenix Books.

O, H. (1893). A Gravitational and Electromagnetic Analog, Electromagnetic Theory.

Poincare, H. (1905). Membres de l'Académie des sciences depuis sa création. Retrieved from http://www.academie-sciences.fr/pdf/dossiers/Poincare/Poincare_pdf/Poincare_CR1905.pdf

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