Is it true that gravitational waves finally been found?
Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 11:27 am
by JamesHopes
I can't still digest the facts discussed in the recent news content that suggests Albert Einstein's ripples in space time theory points are proved. Is it true? I'm talking about the signals detected by advanced Ligo Detector, the reports are also suggesting that the analyzing data process will claim the first evidence of gravitational waves. Will it happen to be true the predictions made by Great Albert Einstein through his General Theory of Relativity? I'm totally confused and yet surprised to see the development, waiting eagerly to know what the analysis of data could bring to us.
I'm a hardcore fan of Physics and most of the free times out of my resume writing profession (here I work) are used to read and discuss about various aspects related to the theme. I hope someone here can help me out sharing their views and thoughts on this new development happened in the Theory of Relativity.
Re: Is it true that gravitational waves finally been found?
Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 12:04 pm
by geckzilla
Oh, look, it's the Daily Fail again. Not even worth clicking. The LIGO data is still being analyzed and it could go either way.
(I don't want to be rude to you, but Daily Mail really pushes my buttons. When in doubt, find an alternate source, and always doubt DM.)
Re: Is it true that gravitational waves finally been found?
Rumor of gravitational wave discovery
is just that, source says
By Adrian ChoJan, Science Magazine
<<Numerous news outlets have reported the rumor, prompted by Twitter posts by Lawrence Krauss, a theoretical physicist and author at Arizona State University, Tempe.
On 25 September 2015, Krauss tweeted: "Rumor of a gravitational wave detection at LIGO detector. Amazing if true. Will post details if it survives." That tweet elicited a flurry of news stories.
Then, yesterday [January 11, 2016], Krauss tweeted: "My earlier rumor about LIGO has been confirmed by independent sources. Stay tuned! Gravitational waves may have been discovered!! Exciting." Again, a press storm ensued.
From the beginning, there have been reasons to doubt that the rumor will hold up. In particular, LIGO researchers purposefully inject false signals in to their data to test the sensitivity of their analysis techniques and to keep people honest. Only a handful of people know when the fake signals are injected, and they reveal that information only at the very end of the process, after researchers have gone through all the checks to validate a signal. In fact, LIGO researchers thought they had discovered a signal on 16 September 2010, just before they shut down for the rebuild. But it turned out to be an injected signal, which the researchers found out only as they were about to submit for publication a paper claiming a discovery. That procedure would seem to render it impossible for LIGO researchers to know for 3 months whether they had a real signal or not.
Krauss acknowledges the point, but says that in September 2015 a prominent physicist told him that the LIGO team had spotted the signal in data from an engineering run, into which—he claims—false signals are not injected. However, that physicist is not a member of the LIGO collaboration, Krauss says, so the information is second-hand at best. "All I was trying to do was prepare people for the potential excitement," he says. "If something really excites me, should I never talk about it?"
LIGO leaders seem somewhat dismayed by whole affair. "I’ve seen Krauss’s new tweet," wrote Gabriela Gonzalez, a physicist at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, and spokesperson for the LIGO Scientific Collaboration in an email. "I’m disappointed (again) that he didn’t ask me or anybody in LIGO leadership.">>
Re: Is it true that gravitational waves finally been found?
Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 4:28 pm
by starsurfer
geckzilla wrote:Oh, look, it's the Daily Fail again. Not even worth clicking. The LIGO data is still being analyzed and it could go either way.
(I don't want to be rude to you, but Daily Mail really pushes my buttons. When in doubt, find an alternate source, and always doubt DM.)
It's one of a few UK tabloids that certainly isn't a good source for serious scientific journalism. We should all "ban this sick filth"!
Re: Is it true that gravitational waves finally been found?
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 8:43 am
by Markus Schwarz
Don't rely on rumours and press releases! It often takes months or years to properly analyse experimental data and often only the people working in the collaboration know the necessary details to really interpret the data. Hold your breath until a collaboration announces their findings at a public conference or science journal. In my experience,when the sources are just press releases, the claim is 'hype' more often than not. Unfortunately, the struggle for funding often forces projects to attract the attention of the media before they have consolidated their findings. This helps survival on the short run, but I think it will damage science on the long run.
Re: Is it true that gravitational waves finally been found?
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 9:43 am
by JamesHopes
Thanks all for your valuable contributions to get me clear on what's going on. But I was not asking about it by just seeing the Daily Mail content, I have seen the same kind of news content in some other sites as well. Anyway, when I recheck the facts now with help of your suggested points, I can clearly understand everything about this rumor, including how it started well with Lawrence Krauss's tweet.
