when two massive black holes merge, all of space jiggles like a bowl of Jell-O as gravitational waves race out from the collision at light speed
India Daily Technology Team
Jan. 29, 2007

Black hole mergers produce copious gravitational waves, sometimes for years, as the black holes approach each other and collide. Black holes are regions where gravity is so extreme that nothing, not even light, can escape their pull. They alter spacetime. Therein lies the difficulty in creating black hole models: space and time shift, density becomes infinite and time can come to a standstill. Such variables cause computer simulations to crash.

Gravitational waves hardly interact with matter and thus can penetrate the dust and gas that blocks our view of black holes and other objects. They offer a new window to explore the universe and provide a precise test for Einstein's theory of general relativity. The National Science Foundation's ground-based Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory and the proposed Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, a joint NASA - European Space Agency project, hope to detect these subtle waves, which would alter the shape of a human from head to toe by far less than the width of an atom.

These massive, colliding objects produce gravitational waves of differing wavelengths and strengths, depending on the masses involved. The Goddard team has perfected the simulation of merging, equal-mass, non-spinning black holes starting at various positions corresponding to the last two to five orbits before their merger.

With each simulation run, regardless of the starting point, the black holes orbited stably and produced identical waveforms during the collision and its aftermath. This unprecedented combination of stability and reproducibility assured the scientists that the simulations were true to Einstein's equations. The team has since moved on to simulating mergers of non-equal-mass black holes.

Einstein's theory of general relativity employs a type of mathematics called tensor calculus, which cannot be turned into computer instructions easily. The equations need to be translated, which greatly expands them. The simplest tensor calculus equations require thousands of lines of computer code. The expansions, called formulations, can be written in many ways. Through mathematical intuition, the Goddard team found the appropriate formulations that led to suitable simulations.

when two massive black holes merge, all of space jiggles like a bowl of Jell-O as gravitational waves race out from the collision at light speed
India Daily Technology Team
Black holes are regions where gravity is so extreme that nothing, not even light, can escape their pull. They alter spacetime.
READ MORE>>

What happens after death – the extraterrestrial connection from the Hyperspace
India Daily Technology Team
That is the reason why earth looks like an electrical engineering marvel – a perfect dynamo to protect life as a breeding ground for higher energy collecting ZPEs.
READ MORE>>

India sets up aerospace command to exploit outer space and to control space-based assets
Media Release
India recognizes future wars and defense establishments will be based in the space.
READ MORE>>

MORE ARTICLES >>