Einstein's unfinished symphony : the story of a gamble, two black holes, and a new age of astronomy
Bartusiak, Marcia, 1950-2017
Book
An updated classic that recounts the long hunt for Einstein's predicted gravitational waves - and celebrates their recent discovery. In February 2016, astronomers announced that they had verified the last remaining prediction of Einstein's general theory of relativity - vibrations in space-time, called gravitational waves. Humanity can now tune in to a cosmic orchestra. We have heard the chirp of two black holes dancing toward a violent union. We will hear the cymbal crashes from exploding stars, the periodic drumbeats from swiftly rotating pulsars, and maybe even the echoes from the Big Bang itself. Marcia Bartusiak was one of the first to report on the new generation of observatories, showing the motivations of the detectors' creators and the gamble they made to prove Einstein right when all other attempts had failed. She traces the quest of astronomers to build the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors, the most accurate measuring devices humans have created, and the discovery of gravitational waves, revealing the brilliance, personalities, and luck required to start a new age of astronomy.
Main title:
Author:
Bartusiak, Marcia, 1950-, author
Work:
Imprint:
New Haven [Conn.] ; London : Yale University Press, 2017.©2017.
Collation:
xiv, 280 pages : illustrations, map, portraits, charts ; 24 cm.
Notes:
An earlier edition of this book was published in 2000 by Joseph Henry Press as Einstein's unfinished symphony: listening to the sounds of space-time.Includes bibliographical references (pages 261-269) and index.
Contents:
Prelude -- Space in G flat -- The maestro enters -- Starlight waltz -- Pas de Deux -- Bars and measures -- Dissonant chords -- A little light music -- The chirp -- Variations on a theme -- The music of the spheres -- The unending symphony -- Coda.
ISBN:
9780300223392
Dewey class:
530.11
Language:
English
BRN:
327433