The LIGO International Observatory announced the discovery of gravitational waves, which many already call the most important scientific discovery of recent decades. Gravitational waves, the existence of which Albert Einstein suggested at the beginning of the 20th century, will help scientists better understand how the universe works and the relationship between space and time. Russian scientists who took part in the work of LIGO, in an interview with RT, talked about their contribution to the discovery, also spoke about the uniqueness of the opening on the air of the TV channel and the director of the LIGO observatory Kip Thorn.
The international project LIGO, in which scientists from all over the world, including from Russia, took part, today announced the opening, which many experts and the media have already dubbed the most important scientific discovery of the 21st century. For the first time, the project participants were able to fix the existence of gravitational waves, which generated the collision of two black holes.
The director of the LIGO observatory, Kip Thorne, told RT that this discovery will help scientists study the universe in a new, hitherto unprecedented way.
“This is not just a black hole, these are two black holes that were moving around each other in a spiral and collided, causing a kind of storm in space and time. This discovery will help to study the universe in a completely new way, and study aspects of black holes that were not clear to us, - explained Thorne.
The director of the observatory highlighted the contribution made by scientists from Russia to the discovery
“An important contribution to the research process was made by scientists from the group of Vladimir Braginsky from Moscow State University. I have personally collaborated with Braginsky and his team since the early 70s, and his group has proposed the basic concept of using giant mirrors to conduct an experiment. … His developments were absolutely irreplaceable, and are an important part of our discovery, Thorne said.
Valery Mitrofanov, head of the Moscow group of the LIGO collaboration, told RT that each signal received by the observatory's special detector is cross-checked to eliminate any possibility of error.
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“Several years ago, LIGO recorded a gravitational wave signal, but everyone knew that there is a practice - a group of scientists anonymously launches artificial signals. Nobody knows about this, and information about this signal is in a sealed envelope. And suddenly a signal was detected several years ago. The condition was that if such a signal is received, it must be prepared for publication in a scientific article. After the information was ready for publication, the director of LIGO opened the envelope, and it was discovered that the signal was artificially initiated. Now the signal has passed this test as well,”Mitrofanov explained the signal cross-check system to RT correspondents.
What has humanity gained?
Answering the question of how the results of the discovery will affect the daily life of mankind, Mitrofanov said that the fruits of the discovery should not be expected in the near future, but the experiment will help advance science so much that its side technologies can help ordinary people.
“Of course, in a few years schoolchildren will not be making generators and receivers of gravitational waves in school circles … This is a very serious, very difficult experiment. Its meaning is multifaceted. This is a new channel for obtaining information. We used to see the universe in visible light, with the help of cosmic rays, neutrinos, radio telescopes, and now another channel will appear, and now we can look where everyone else has not looked, because gravitational waves pass through the universe without being absorbed by anything or why not reflecting. We hope to receive signals from such processes where gravity is so strong that it is difficult to imagine. Only 5% of the substance that makes up the universe is known to us. When such experiments are created, scientists want something from industry that may not be needed in everyday life,but then it may come in handy,”the Russian scientist believes.
The youngest scientist from the Russian LIGO group, Leonid Prokhorov, also believes that the side technologies with which the discovery was made can help humanity.
“In order to receive and register gravitational waves, we are developing technologies. These technologies then come to you in life, like mobile phones, like smart watches … For example, laser technologies are developing in order to create such an interferometer. Seismic technologies are developing … Maybe the side technologies of this experiment can help predict earthquakes,”said Prokhorov.
However, the discovery was able, albeit not much, to bring Valery Mitrofanov's own dream closer - to make the film "Interstellar" more real, the scientific consultant of which was the director of the observatory.
“This film, which is so fantastic on the one hand, and on the other hand, Kip Thorne, founder of LIGO, said that he tried his best not to allow the incredible. Physics is presented there as consistent with the fundamental laws of physics … - told RT.
The film directed by Christopher Nolan, released in 2014, told the story of a team of astronauts who set out on a journey through space and time in order to find a new habitable planet suitable for human resettlement. In one of the climaxing scenes of the film, the main character of the film overcomes the space-time barrier, using the orbit of a black star and its powerful gravitational radiation as an accelerating mechanism.
The head of LIGO Kip Thorne, who developed the scientific basis of the film, believes that one day humanity will be able to repeat the path of the heroes of Interstellar.
"I believe that mankind will one day send a manned expedition to a black hole … We won't have the technology needed to get to the nearest black hole for several centuries, but I believe that we will get there and explore them." Thorne concluded.