When will the Vulcans come to Earth and uplift humanity? We need this right now.
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is a large-scale experimental facility designed to detect gravitational waves, which are ripples in the fabric of spacetime predicted by Einstein’s theory of general relativity. These waves are thought to be generated by the acceleration of massive objects, such as the collision of black holes or the merging of neutron stars. LIGO consists of two interferometers located in Hanford, Washington and Livingston, Louisiana. Each interferometer consists of a pair of perpendicular arms that are 4 km long, with a laser beam that travels back and forth along the arms using mirrors. The laser beam is split into two beams, one for each arm, which travels along the arms and then is reflected back by the mirrors. The beams are then recombined and the interference pattern is measured. Gravitational waves passing through the interferometer will stretch and squeeze spacetime, causing the distance travelled by the laser beams to change slightly. This change in distance is extremely small, on the order of a few nanometers, but it is detectable by LIGO’s highly sensitive instrumentation.
The LIGO interferometers use a technique called laser interferometry to measure these changes in distance. Laser interferometry involves splitting a laser beam into two beams and recombining them after they have travelled different distances. The resulting interference pattern can be used to measure changes in the distance travelled by the beams with high precision. To detect gravitational waves, LIGO must be able to measure changes in the distance on the order of a few nanometers, which is a challenge due to the noise and vibration present in the environment. To overcome this, LIGO uses a number of sophisticated techniques to isolate the interferometers from external noise and vibration, including the use of vacuum-sealed tubes to house the laser beams and advanced vibration isolation systems to minimize the effects of external noise. LIGO has made a number of groundbreaking discoveries since its first observation of gravitational waves in 2015, including the observation of a binary neutron star merger and the detection of gravitational waves from the collision of two black holes. These observations have provided important new insights into the nature of gravity and the behaviour of massive objects in the universe. This is a long way from the Star trek sensors that can sense Commander Data`s head across interstellar distances, but this is amazing.
It might be better if this observatory was in space, then it would have less Earth-borne interference. But it would be harder to access. I guess you would need to have a facility to transmit the readings to the side of the moon facing the Earth to then transmit the readings to scientists on Earth. One reason for this is that the Earth’s atmosphere and the surface can actually provide a degree of protection against external sources of noise and vibration that could interfere with the measurement of gravitational waves. The Earth’s atmosphere absorbs and dampens a variety of environmental perturbations, such as wind, temperature fluctuations, and seismic activity, that could affect the operation of a gravitational wave detector. In addition, the Earth’s surface provides a stable platform for the operation of a gravitational wave detector, which is important for maintaining the long-term stability and sensitivity of the instrument. Placing a gravitational wave detector in space or on the moon would require it to be much more self-sufficient and would increase the complexity and cost of the instrument. There are also practical considerations that make it difficult to place a gravitational wave detector in space or on the far side of the moon. Both locations are much more remote and difficult to access than the surface of the Earth, which would make it challenging to repair or maintain the instrument if it experiences any problems. But the Hubble Space Telescope did experience problems and it was repaired, but we do not have the Space Shuttle anymore.