Coffeeshop Astrophysics Meeting on Gravitational Waves

[Greg Bernhardt]

In about an hour I'm heading over to a local Coffeeshop Astrophysics meeting put on by researchers and grad students at UW-Milwaukee. The topic is the gravity wave discovery. Apparently some of them contributed to the LIGO project so it will be interesting to hear what they have to say. I'll update in this thread with any interesting info.

http://www.cgca.uwm.edu/coffee/index.html

If you have a question, post it here and I'll do my best to get it answered.

 

[fresh_42]

I've often heard in these days that LIGO represents a new way of astronomic measurement and future instruments will detect even more GW, e.g. from the very early universe(?).
How can refinements be achieved? Going into orbit or extending the length of the legs, are improvements on the apparatus thinkable or similar to radio telescopy a connection of various experiments at different places on earth? Are there already plans for it (by whom ever)?

 

[jw6661]

Please ask them what they think about the new "5th dimension"

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I've often heard in these days that LIGO represents a new way of astronomic measurement and future instruments will detect even more GW, e.g. from the very early universe(?).
How can refinements be achieved? Going into orbit or extending the length of the legs, are improvements on the apparatus thinkable or similar to radio telescopy a connection of various experiments at different places on earth? Are there already plans for it (by whom ever)?

Can you boil this into an easier one question sentence.

 

[fresh_42]

Can you boil this into an easier one question sentence.

If LIGO is a new instrument in astronomy where (and how) will future developments lead us to?

 

[Samy_A]

We need an emoticon for pedantic mode: it should be gravitational waves, not gravity waves.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Huge crowd at the meeting. I'm still fairly in front and there must be over 100 ppl in this coffee shop!

 

[berkeman]

We need an emoticon for pedantic mode: it should be gravitational waves, not gravity waves.

Thread title edited.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Here the audience is impersonating the chirp