Sheila Rowan explains the nature of gravitational waves, where they come from, how we detected them, and what the future of this new era of astronomy might look like.
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A century ago, Albert Einstein realized that in his new model of space and time in our Universe (his "Theory of General Relativity"), space could stretch and collapse in response to motion. Objects. These ripples in space-time – "gravitational waves" – are produced by some of the most energetic and dramatic phenomena in our universe, including black holes, neutron stars and supernovae.

Nearly 100 years after the existence of gravitational waves was predicted, advanced detectors at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) recently detected such signals for the first time, ushering in a new era in astronomy. Sheila Rowan explains the nature of gravitational waves, describes what sources in the Universe can produce them, explains how they are detected, and what the future of this new era of astronomy might look like.

Sheila Rowan is Professor in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Glasgow. His research focuses on the detection of gravitational waves on the ground and in space. His program currently includes studies on ultrasensitive mechanical systems; study of materials with very low mechanical loss and construction of mechanically stable optical systems for interferometric applications.

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