Blog post with show notes, audio player, and transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2018/11/26/episode-24-kip-thorne-on-gravitational-waves...
Kip Thorne, Nobel Prize winner in Theoretical Physics talks with Sam Carroll about Ligo's detection of Gravity Waves (and time travel through worm holes!).
So what are gravity waves?
"Gravitational waves are 'ripples' in the fabric of space-time caused by some of the most violent and energetic processes in the Universe."
In this case two black holes collided and that caused a "ripple" in space time. An instrument on Earth designed to detect if gravity waves were even real finally "noticed" them.
"Albert Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves in 1916 in his general theory of relativity. Einstein's mathematics showed that massive accelerating objects (such as neutron stars or black holes orbiting each other) would disrupt space-time in such a way that 'waves' of distorted space would radiate from the source (like the movement of waves away from a stone thrown into a pond). Furthermore, these ripples would travel at the speed of light through the Universe, carrying with them information about their cataclysmic origins, as well as invaluable clues to the nature of gravity itself."
Just to note that specially, Einstein predicted gravity waves 100 years before we could actually test the theory. Just amazing.
