What does LIGO mean?
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What does LIGO mean?
Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory
LIGO stands for “Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory”. It is the world’s largest gravitational wave observatory and a marvel of precision engineering.
Where is LIGO located?
LIGO operates two gravitational wave observatories in unison: the LIGO Livingston Observatory ( 30°33′46.42″N 90°46′27.27″W) in Livingston, Louisiana, and the LIGO Hanford Observatory, on the DOE Hanford Site ( 46°27′18.52″N 119°24′27.56″W), located near Richland, Washington.
How sensitive is LIGO?
Most sensitive: At its most sensitive state, LIGO will be able to detect a change in distance between its mirrors 1/10,000th the width of a proton! This is equivalent to measuring the distance to the nearest star (some 4.2 light years away) to an accuracy smaller than the width of a human hair.
What is LIGO and Virgo?
LIGO, VIRGO AND KAGRA OBSERVING RUN PLANS LIGO has a sensitivity goal of 160-190 Mpc for binary neutron stars. Virgo aims for a target sensitivity of 80-115 Mpc. KAGRA should be running with greater than 1 Mpc sensitivity by the beginning of O4 and will work to improve the sensitivity toward the end of the run.
Who funds LIGO?
NSF
LIGO is funded by NSF and operated by Caltech and MIT, which conceived of LIGO and led the Initial and Advanced LIGO projects.
Is LIGO India operational?
The historic detection of gravitational waves happened in September 2015 and its official announcement was made in February 2016. The cabinet, in February 2016, had approved setting up the third LIGO facility in India and the works to finalise the site was taken up thereafter.
Who is the head of LIGO?
David Reitze
PASADENA, Calif. —David Reitze has been named executive director of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), designed and operated by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
What is the Virgo detector?
The Virgo interferometer is a large interferometer designed to detect gravitational waves predicted by the general theory of relativity. Virgo is a Michelson interferometer that is isolated from external disturbances: its mirrors and instrumentation are suspended and its laser beam operates in a vacuum.
Are Virgos big egos?
Although Virgos are pretty caring and loving individuals, during an argument or a fight, they cannot separate their ego from themselves. Their ego tends to get the better of them and they can never bring themselves up to be the bigger person.
