LIVINGSTON, La. — Members of the Edward Livingston Historical Association recently visited a site north of Livingston that made scientific history 10 years ago this month.
On Sept. 14, 2015, the National Science Foundation’s Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) on La. 63, along with its companion site in Hanford, Wash., detected a gravitational wave for the first time. The wave, created by the merger of two black holes more than a billion years ago, traveled across the universe at the speed of light before being captured by LIGO’s sensitive instruments.
The detection confirmed a key part of Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity. While gravitational waves had long been predicted, they could not be measured on Earth until technological advances such as lasers caught up with Einstein’s mathematics. LIGO’s unique design features two above-ground tubes, each 4 kilometers long and positioned at right angles, which work together to detect the faint ripples in space-time.
The Livingston and Hanford observatories are now supported by collaborative stations in Japan and Italy, furthering global research into gravitational waves.
During their visit, the history group took part in LIGO Livingston’s Science Saturday program on Sept. 6. The event included a tour, an instructional video, and hands-on activities. Many visitors, including Scout troops, also attended LIGO’s Sept. 2 open house.
Science Saturday is held on the first Saturday of every month from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.
