On the one hand, this was expected. We know that mass bends space and time, and so when mass moves it really should cause ripples in space and time, in much the same way that a gymnast moving on the surface of a trampoline causes ripples in the cloth.
On the other hand ... Well, there are several other hands actually. Firstly, we have seen ripples in space-time!
Janna Levin’s book, Black Hole Blues, was my favourite science read of 2016. It describes the difficult characters and even more difficult science behind the greatest physics discovery of 2016 – the first observation of the gravitational waves predicted by Einstein’s General Relativity. It is a fascinating and entertaining read, and Levin’s lecture at the Perimeter Institute should be well worth watching. See below.
There will be a live webcast in the evening of 3 May, which will be replaced by a recording shortly after the event.
