Where are we on gravitational waves/graviton?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the detection of gravitational waves and the graviton, exploring the current status of relevant technologies and theories. Participants inquire about the results from devices like LIGO and LISA, and the implications of theories such as Zero-point theory on gravitational phenomena.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants mention LIGO as a device for detecting gravitational waves, noting that it may take time before convincing results are expected.
  • Others refer to LISA, a satellite designed for gravitational wave detection, but clarify that it has not yet been launched.
  • There is a discussion about the graviton, with some expressing skepticism about its existence and its association with string theory, while others suggest it is linked to the wave-particle duality of quantum mechanics.
  • Participants highlight the difficulty of detecting gravitational waves, with one noting that the amplitude of these waves is expected to be extremely small, comparable to the size of a nucleus.
  • Some argue that detecting gravitational waves does not equate to having "seen" a graviton, as quantization of the waves would need to be demonstrated.
  • There is a mention of Zero-point theory, with one participant questioning its implications regarding the existence of gravitational waves and gravitons, suggesting that such theories are still highly hypothetical.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the existence of the graviton and the effectiveness of current detection methods. There is no consensus on the implications of Zero-point theory, and the discussion remains unresolved regarding the detection of gravitational waves and the graviton.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the speculative nature of the graviton and its association with various theories, as well as the challenges in detecting gravitational waves due to their expected minuscule amplitudes.

quasar987
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I read about a year ago that we (humans) were building an device to detect gravitational waves (produced mainly by binary black holes and neutron star systems). Has it given any result yet?

And what about the graviton.. is there any way we can detect it?


And a last question: does the Zero-point theory state that there exist no gravitational waves and gravitons?
 
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I can't give you a good explanation for any of your questions, but I can tell you that IIRC, there was a satellite built called LISA that was supposed to detect gravity waves, I have no idea about the results. As for the graviton...scientists are trying to detect it, they have been for some time I believe, but they have had no luck in trying to find it so far. Its a good thing because I don't believe in the graviton or the M-theory, I'm General Relativity ALL DA WAY WOOT WOOT! Haha sorry, had to do that. Anyways, I don't know anything about Zero-point theory but I don't think it states that because nothing can "state" something being wrong when so little is known about them, and the fact that they are so hypothetical.
 
ArmoSkater87 said:
Its a good thing because I don't believe in the graviton or the M-theory, I'm General Relativity ALL DA WAY WOOT WOOT!

I didn't know the graviton was exclusive to string theories! I figured it was normally predicted by the wave-particle duality of QM. You got gravitationnal waves? Then you have a particle associated to it... the graviton.
 
I think that the device to which you refer is LIGO, and it has a while to go before any convincing results would be expected. Gravity waves are predicted to be horribly difficult to detect.
 
quasar987 said:
I didn't know the graviton was exclusive to string theories! I figured it was normally predicted by the wave-particle duality of QM. You got gravitationnal waves? Then you have a particle associated to it... the graviton.

You really need to do more than to just detect gravitational waves to say that you've "seen" a gravition. You need to show that the waves are quantized.

LIGO is starting to come online, so far it hasn't detected any gravity waves, but it is still early.

Detecting a quantum of gravitational radiation is a very far-out prospect.

It's really best at this point to study gravity in terms of it's classical theory, general relativity, rather than attempt to quantize it.

This is especially true since we don't have a theory of quantum gravity.
 
LURCH said:
I think that the device to which you refer is LIGO, and it has a while to go before any convincing results would be expected. Gravity waves are predicted to be horribly difficult to detect.

The one i recall was on a poster in my physics class last year. It was an artist's view of what it would look like in space (i guess once sent there), which was an array of 3 satellites "connected" by 3 lasers like a triangle. Anyways, you are right about detecting the waves, it will be extreamly hard since the amlpitude of those waves are expected to be like the length of a nucleus, just incredibly small.
 
Ah, well then that would indeed be http://lisa.jpl.nasa.gov/index.html , but she hasn't launched yet.
 
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