I had the opportunity to attend a LIGO conference at Pune university in 2018 along with a ThoughtWorks team working on Engineering for Research ( E4R - PDF alert) . LIGO or the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory is a super awesome, science fiction like (but really existing & operational) instrument that detects Gravitational waves (GWs, not to be confused with Gravity Waves ). Think of LIGO like a telescope for Gravitational waves, and because GWs are so different than the light waves that optical telescopes can detect, LIGO itself does not even closely resemble a telescope. Crash course on Gravitational Waves The ' empty ' space between planets, stars, galaxies or between two atoms that we perceive as void is actually a 3D malleable membrane. The interaction of this membrane with mass (Higg's particles) causes it to warp, and just like throwing a stone in still water, creates ripples. Especially, a jiggling heavy mass (black hole
Sid-Thinks
These are my thoughts on random topics.