Gravitational Waves

In Our Time

BBC

History

4.6 • 9.2K Ratings

🗓️ 17 May 2007

⏱️ 43 minutes

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Summary

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss mysterious phenomena called Gravitational Waves in contemporary physics. The rather un-poetically named star SN 2006gy is roughly 150 times the size of our sun. Last week it went supernova, creating the brightest stellar explosion ever recorded. But among the vast swathes of dust, gas and visible matter ejected into space, perhaps the most significant consequences were invisible – emanating out from the star like the ripples from a pebble thrown into a pond. They are called Gravitational Waves, predicted by Einstein and much discussed since, their existence has never actually been proved but now scientists may be on the verge of measuring them directly. To do so would give us a whole new way of seeing the cosmos. But what are gravitational waves, why are scientists trying to measure them and, if they succeed, what would a gravitational picture of the universe look like?With Jim Al-Khalili, Professor of Physics at the University of Surrey; Carolin Crawford, Royal Society Research Fellow at the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge; Sheila Rowan, Professor in Experimental Physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Glasgow

Transcript

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0:00.0	Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know.
0:04.7	My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds.
0:08.5	As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices.
0:18.0	What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars,
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0:39.0	For more details about In Our Time and for our terms of use, please go to BBC.co. UK forward slash radio for. I hope you
0:46.4	enjoy the program. Hello the rather unpoetically named Star SN 2006 GY, is roughly 150 times the size of our sun.
0:57.0	On Monday of last week, it went supernova, creating the biggest stellar explosion ever recorded.
1:03.0	But among the vast sways of dust, gas, and visible matter ejected into space,
1:08.0	perhaps the most significant consequences were invisible,
1:11.0	emanating out from the star like the ripples from a pebble thrown into a pond.
1:15.6	These are called gravitational waves.
1:17.8	They run through the fabric of space time itself and have it been predicted by Einstein
1:22.0	nearly a hundred years ago, we may be on the verge of proving they exist.
1:25.5	But what are gravitational waves?
1:27.5	Why a scientist trying to measure them, and if they succeed, what would a gravitational picture of the universe look like?
1:33.8	With me to discuss gravitational waves of Jim Alkalelli, Professor of Physics at the University
1:37.8	of Surrey, Caroline Crawford, Royal Society of Hearst Fellow at the Institute of Astronomy and Sheila Rowan Professor in Experimental Physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Glasgow.
1:48.0	Jim Alcalini, gravitational waves were first British by Einstein's theory of general relativity published in
1:54.8	1916, following up on his paper on special relativity published in 1995, can you just
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