Gravitational waves beating a story about someone who Hula hooped for a rapt audience of geeks? Get serious. :)
> Isn't this huge?
It could well be huge. Gravitational waves are the last confirmation of general relativity that so far has no direct observational evidence.
I say "direct" because pulsars (compact, very massive collapsed stars that emit radio pulses) have been observed to slow their pulse rates over time consistent with the idea that they're radiating away some of their kinetic energy in the form of gravitational waves. But this is indirect evidence at best, and there are other possible explanations for the decline in pulse rates.
Gravitational waves beating a story about someone who Hula hooped for a rapt audience of geeks? Get serious. :)
> Isn't this huge?
It could well be huge. Gravitational waves are the last confirmation of general relativity that so far has no direct observational evidence.
I say "direct" because pulsars (compact, very massive collapsed stars that emit radio pulses) have been observed to slow their pulse rates over time consistent with the idea that they're radiating away some of their kinetic energy in the form of gravitational waves. But this is indirect evidence at best, and there are other possible explanations for the decline in pulse rates.