Lasers Used to ’Hear’ Ripples in Space
PASADENA, Calif., Nov. 30, 2010 — A new system of lasers is being tested that would “hear” gravitational waves, or ripples in space and time, while flying aboard the proposed space mission called Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). The research team, consisting of scientists and engineers NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), is looking to detect the subtle, whisper-like signals of gravitational waves, which were predicted by Albert Einstein in the 20th century, but have yet to be observed. The...