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Saturday, 7 May 2016

Key News from Various Newspapers about Gravitational waves detected by LIGO

Breakthrough Prize for gravitational waves find

  1. Context: LIGO won prize in fundamental physics for its detection of gravitational waves
  2. LIGO: Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory
  3. K.G. Arun of Chennai Mathematical Institute is among the contributor
  4. He joined LEGO through the INDIGO consortium in 2012

Cabinet clears LIGO-India gravitational wave observatory

  1. Background: The gravitational waves were detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) — a system of detectors in Washington and Louisiana
  2. Context: LIGO-India project, it is piloted by Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Department of Science and Technology (DST)
  3. Project cost: at least Rs. 1,200 crore
  4. Way ahead: bring considerable opportunities in cutting edge technology for Indian industry
  5. Which will be engaged in the construction of an 8-kilometre-long beam-tube at ultra-high vacuum on a levelled terrain
  6. Research institutions in LIGO-India project :
  • Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune
  • DAE organisations: Institute for Plasma Research (IPR), Gandhinagar
  • Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT), Indore

Indian gravity wave detector 8 years away

LIGO
  1. Context: Prime Minister supported idea for a US-based LIGO detector in India but such a project is at least eight years away
  2. Background: Estimated to cost around Rs. 1,200 crore project not running into environmental or State-level hurdles
  3. Relevance: India-LIGO project (INDIGO) will be a replica of the 2 LIGO detectors and many of its components have already been built and are ready to be shipped from the United States
  4. Another Project: The Indian Neutrino Observatory (INO) project — a proposed, underground observatory in Tamil Nadu cleared by the government in 2015
  5. What happened? Stalled for over a year due to protests by activist groups, concerned over its environmental impact
  6. Way ahead:  Third detector will likely improve the chances of spotting gravitational waves

Gravitational wave astronomy’s finest moment

  1. Context: The detection of gravitational waves by the scientific community
  2. Indian Contribution: Inter-University for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune and the Raman Research Institute (RRI), Bangalore contributed in the analysis of the LIGO data
  3. Importance: The discovery would enable astrophysicists to see the universe, which is invisible to them because about 95% of the universe is known to consist of dark matter
  4. Newtonian gravity theory would be overthrown in favour of Einstein’s gravity by this discovery

Learn about Gravitational waves

  1. Gravitational waves are distortions in the space-time geometry that propagate with the speed of light, analogous to ripples on the surface of a pond
  2. Current Status: There is indirect evidence for the existence of gravitational waves from the observation of binary pulsars
  3. Research: To detect gravitational waves directly
  4. The worldwide network of gravitational wave detectors had started search for these ripples in spacetime

Important discovery on gravitational waves on cards

  1. Context: Indian researchers are part of the international commitment to detect gravitational waves
  2. Historical Background: Albert Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves in 1915
  3. Consortium: Scientists are working with IndIGO (Indian Initiative in Gravitational-wave Observations) Consortium
  4. Organisation Involved: Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics-Pune
  5. How? Using Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory
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