The ripples of the event in the form of ‘gravitational waves’ reached Earth only a couple of months ago. This is not the first instance that gravitational waves, predicted by Albert Einstein in his beautiful General Theory of Relativity, were detected by scientists. In this instance, the smash-up was not only ‘heard’ but also ‘seen’ across a whole range of electromagnetic radiation. In this case, the event increased our knowledge of the universe manifold and reaffirmed our ‘faith’ in the Einsteinian universe. In 2015, when gravitational waves were first detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO), they were part of the monstrous energy output of two black holes in a tight embrace.

Source: Economic Times October 22, 2017 18:33 UTC