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A spark of life

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A published scientist at 17?

Gravitational waves

The recent announcement of the first detection of gravitational waves is the start of a new era in astronomy. It is not an extension of current techniques, but a totally new way of studying the universe. The waves were detected by the most precise astronomical instrument ever built, which made use of Einstein’s theory of general relativity

The terms in bold link to topics in the AQA, Edexcel, OCR, WJEC and CCEA A-level specifications, as well as the IB, Pre-U and SQA exam specifications.

Gravitational waves, created by the acceleration of large masses, are transverse waves that squash and stretch space-time and travel at the speed of light. They were detected by two large and extremely sensitive instruments that used the interference of light to measure the changes in space-time as the waves passed through. In particular, it was changes in the rate at which time passes that led to the detection.

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Previous

A spark of life

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A published scientist at 17?