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Caltech News Release
For Immediate Release
February 26, 2003

Contact: Mark Wheeler
        (626) 395-8733
        wheel{at}caltech.edu

Catching the Waves with LIGO
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PASADENA, Calif. - In 1916, Einstein predicted the existence of 
gravitational waves as a consequence of the general theory of 
relativity. In his theory, concentrations of mass (or energy) warp 
space-time, and changes in the shape of such objects cause distortions 
called gravitational waves. These waves propagate through the universe 
at the speed of light, and it's thought they are caused by cataclysmic 
events in deep space. These include black holes, spinning neutron 
stars, and perhaps even the Big Bang itself.

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO, is 
being developed to detect such gravitational waves, and on Wednesday, 
March 5, Barry Barish, the Ronald and Maxine Linde Professor of 
Physics and the director of the LIGO Lab at the California Institute 
of Technology, will explain how the detection of gravity waves will 
open a new window on the universe for astronomers. His talk, " 
Catching the Waves with LIGO," is one of the ongoing Earnest C. Watson 
Lecture Series that takes place on the Caltech campus.

The detection of such waves is an enormous challenge. The LIGO 
detectors consist of two observatories, one in the state of 
Washington, the other in Louisiana. To reach maximum sensitivity, LIGO 
employs a sophisticated, computer-based control system to position 
mirrors at the ends of two arms while bouncing a laser beam back and 
forth between them. The challenge is that the predicted motions of the 
mirrors due to even the strongest gravitational waves are incredibly 
small--about ten billionths of the diameter of an atom.

A successful detection would be big news, not the least of which would 
be the final confirmation of one of the fundamental predictions of 
Einstein's general theory of relativity.

Caltech has offered the Watson Lecture Series for over 80 years, ever 
since it was conceived by the late Caltech physicist Earnest Watson as 
a way to explain science to the local community. The lecture will take 
place at 8 p.m. in Beckman Auditorium, which is located near Michigan 
Avenue south of Del Mar Boulevard, on Caltech's campus in Pasadena. 
Seating is available on a free, no-ticket-required, first-come, 
first-served basis, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Parking is available in the 
lots south of Del Mar Boulevard between Wilson and Chester avenues, 
and in the parking structures at 341 and 405 South Wilson and 370 
South Holliston Avenue.

For more information, call 1(888) 2CALTECH (1-888-222-5832) or (626) 
395-4652. Persons with disabilities: 626-395-4688 (voice) or 
626-395-3700 (TDD).

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