Gravitiational waves

[Fame]

So what's the big deal around that new discovery of gravitational waves? Is it just that Einstein predicted it, or that the confirmation of its existence makes other theories possible?

TL;DR

Can we time travel now? Is a gravity warp drive a legitimate possibility?

Respond as you would to a child.

[KagatobLuvsAnimu]

Waiting two weeks until they realize they fucked up and are detecting something else just in a different way.

[Hoozi]

Originally Posted by Fame [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

So what's the big deal around that new discovery of gravitational waves? Is it just that Einstein predicted it, or that the confirmation of its existence makes other theories possible?

TL;DR

Can we time travel now? Is a gravity warp drive a legitimate possibility?

Respond as you would to a child.

It confirmed that the discoverer was indeed still a virgin.

[Aesop]

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[maerilith]

+1 for general relativity. Which was starting to get shaky.

Basically it says that fundamentally, Einstein modeled gravity p-good.

[Blitzers]

Originally Posted by KagatobLuvsAnimu [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Waiting two weeks until they realize they fucked up and are detecting something else just in a different way.

Oh your a gravitational wave denier, how dare you question, we have consensus damnit! We have consensus!!!

[TeemoOfAstora]

In addition to confirming Einstein's prediction the discovery of gravitational waves opens new ways for studying the universe. We have been observing the known universe by looking at various frequencies of light and that's gotten us surprisingly far.

Looking at the gravitational waves generated by truly colossal events like black hole collisions will allow us to look at extremely energetic processes from a gravitational perspective. These processes can in turn give us hints as to what space time is made of at its basic levels and how gravity fits in with the rest of our understanding of the world.

New theories that try to reconcile quantum theory with Einstein's relativity all have to make predictions about the detailed gravitational wave signature of these processes. Based on the predictions gravitational wave detectors will allow us to pick the correct theories, furthering the reach of physics, and eventually giving the engineers something to build (like your warp drives, which are allowed by general relativity to begin with).

TL;DR It's a big deal for mankind, but it likely won't affect you personally. Time travel might still be a no-no, but looking at gravitational waves might change this.

[Hoozi]

From reddit, but relevant:

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[Pokesan]

Originally Posted by Blitzers [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Oh your a gravitational wave denier, how dare you question, we have consensus damnit! We have consensus!!!

consensus is irrelevant in the face of data

same thing with climate change

[Blitzers]

Originally Posted by Pokesan [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

consensus is irrelevant in the face of data

same thing with climate change

Satellite data is also irrelevant according to the Gods of Climate change, they only use flawed modeling which in every case has been WRONG.