Albert Einstein's
Gravitational Waves
© 2016 Vashaanth Gowri-Kriszyk. All Rights Reserved.
In 1914-1917, Albert Einstein, a theoretical
scientist and physicist, published six editions of
The Special and General Theory of Relativity,
in which he described his theory. In his theory,
he proposed an idea about what he called
Gravitational Waves. These are waves of energy
created by gravity in form of radiation.
According to the New York Times the first time
we detected the gravitational waves was on the
eleventh of February 2016. It was later detected
on the fifteenth of June 2016, and finally again
on fourteenth of September 2016. However, these
observations happened over hundred years after
Albert Einstein initially published his theory in
1914-1917.
So I hear you may ask what gravitational waves
are. Well, think of them like this:
If you and a friend throw a stone each at the
same point in the water at the same time, there
will be two sets of ripples, right? The point where
each stone collides with the water is similar to
how the black holes collide. For example, the
stones would be the black holes, the air would be
© 2016 Vashaanth Gowri-Kriszyk. All Rights Reserved.
the universe, and the ripples would be the
invisible gravitational waves.
However, what are these waves made of you may
ask. Well, they are made from Gravitational
Potential Energy (GPE). This is a type of energy
which creates gravitational radiation, and
gravitational radiation are what gravitational
waves are made of. In other words, GPE means
the stored energy that you have above the earth’s
surface or high-gravity objects, like stars, black
holes and alike. The use of the energy of
whatever exist above the planet’s surface would
be in form of an energy called, Kinetic
Energy(KE).
Below is a table which shows the example given
of the comparison between stone-skipping and
black holes:
What it
example.
Stone
The point
The air
The ripples.
is
in What it would be.
Action
Black hole
Collides
Where the
black Collided
holes
The universe
Galaxies are moving .
Invisible gravitational Moving throughout
waves
the universe
© 2016 Vashaanth Gowri-Kriszyk. All Rights Reserved.
Albert Einstein's Timeline.
Albert Einstein was born in 1879 and
he attended a catholic primary/lowersecondary school and Luitpold
Gymnasium(Upper secondary school
between 1884-1894.
In 1894, Einstein and his family moved to Italy
from Germany, initially to Munich and then to
Pavia. Einstein died on eighteenth of April
1955.
Albert Einstein is well-known for his books, in
which the most recognised is, The Special and
General Theory of Relativity. In here, he
describes his theory of space-time and
gravitational waves. Following are few facts
about The Special and General Theory of
© 2016 Vashaanth Gowri-Kriszyk. All Rights Reserved.
Relativity , Space-time and Gravitational
Waves:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Einstein stated in his Special and General
Theory of Relativity that time, space, light,
energy and matter were all inter-connected.
Gravitational waves were caused by black
holes and enormous stars colliding with
each other.
The gravitational waves detected by Laser
Interferometer Gravitational-Waves
Observatory (LIGO) antennae were from a
black hole a billion light years away and
these waves are currently billions of years
old!
Space-time means that your movement in
space and time affect both of these at once.
Holes in space-time are often created by
stars or planets.
LIGO was made to detect gravitational
waves and it detected three waves.
However, Einstein's theory is not perfect, as it
has its limitations like most theories. For
instance, scientists have investigated Albert
© 2016 Vashaanth Gowri-Kriszyk. All Rights Reserved.
Einstein’s theory in order to prove its accuracy
and validation. Consequently, they developed
the theory of dark matter and dark energy.
However, a new theory hypothesises that the
universe is actually a hologram and it does not
need dark matter or dark energy. This theory
was created by Erik Verlinde. The theory is
accepted by Quantum Physics. For additional
information about this subject visit the
following link: www.mnn.com/earthmatters/space/stories/new-theory-explainsgravity-better-einstiens-relativity
There is a lot more to discover about
gravitational waves and should you like to learn
© 2016 Vashaanth Gowri-Kriszyk. All Rights Reserved.
more about this fascinating topic then please
visit the following links:
https://www.ligo.org
www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/scientists/al
berteinstien.html
https://www.teachingkidsnews.com/2016/02/15
www.mirror.co.uk/news/technologyscience/science/gravitional-waves-key-facts7352413
https://www.einstien.biz
https://www.ligo.caltech.edu
Thank you for taking the time to read my work.
© 2016 Vashaanth Gowri-Kriszyk. All Rights Reserved.