Italian and American scientists announced at a press conference in Washington the detection of gravitational waves, whose existence Albert Einstein predicted in his General Theory of Relativity100 years ago.
Scientists have been able to detect for the first time ever “ripples” in spacetime, the so-called gravitational waves generated by a catastrophic collision in the universe. The discovery confirms a key-prediction of Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity and opens up a new window on the universe.
Gravitation is the weakest fundamental force in the universe, so special detectors and laser interferometers with 2-4 kilometer-long legs had to be developed to detect gravitational waves. Several of them needed to be set up at different locations on the planet to identify the direction from which a gravitational wave is generated. The project conducted by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) , and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), used two twin interferometers, one located in Livingston, Louisiana and the other in Handford, Washington State to make this world-class scientific breakthrough possible.
Italy plays a key-role
Italian Ambassador to the United States, Claudio Bisogniero, said: “It is a scientific success of two projects which have historical roots and research centers both in the United States and in Italy. It is further proof of the strong cooperation ties between our two countries’ scientific community and which have grown even stronger following the renewal of the bilateral protocol for scientific and technological cooperation, which was signed in Rome on 14 January, 2016.”
Italian Ambassador to the United States, Claudio Bisogniero, said: “It is a scientific success of two projects which have historical roots and research centers both in the United States and in Italy. It is further proof of the strong cooperative ties between our two countries’ scientific communities that have grown even stronger following the renewal of the scientific and technological cooperation agreement, which was signed in Rome on 14 January, 2016.”
