FEATURE ARTICLE
The Sounds of Spacetime
In the biggest events in the universe, massive black holes collide with a chirp and a ring. Physicists are finding ways to listen in
Craig Hogan
However silent the twinkling stars seem in the clear night sky,
Einstein's theory of spacetime tells us that the real universe is a
noisy place, alive with vibrating energy. Space and time, says Craig
Hogan, carry a cacophony of vibrations with textures and timbres as
rich and varied as the din of sounds in a tropical rain forest or
the finale of a Wagnerian opera. A space-based antenna now being
designed will complement terrestrial laser interferometers to allow
astronomers to listen to these rumblings—gravitational
waves that depict the death dances of neutron stars or the
collisions of massive black holes in distant galaxies. Hogan says
the waves will map distant reaches of the universe, tell us much
about spacetime itself—and possibly detect whispering evidence
of cosmic strings.
Go to Article