Gravitational waves detected

[Napolean]

Gravitational waves have been directly detected which is touted to be a nobel prize worthy discovery. This is supposed to open the door for many more discoveries/inventions.
Einstein had predicted it 100 years back,took it back,supported it again, took it back and so on.

Scientists have been trying for many decades to have a direct evidence for gravitational waves and finally they have it.

What are gravitational waves ?

Gravitational waves are disturbances in the fabric of spacetime. If you drag your hand through a still pool of water, you'll notice that waves follow in its path, and spread outward through the pool. According to Albert Einstein, the same thing happens when heavy objects move through spacetime.
But how can space ripple? According to Einstein's general theory of relativity, spacetime isn't a void, but rather a four-dimensional "fabric," which can be pushed or pulled as objects move through it. These distortions are the real cause of gravitational attraction. One famous way of visualizing this is to take a taut rubber sheet and place a heavy object on it. That object will cause the sheet to sag around it. If you place a smaller object near the first one, it will fall toward the larger object. A star exerts a pull on planets and other celestial bodies in the same manner.

http://www.popsci.com/whats-so-impor...tational-waves

Sound of ripples :-

http://podcasts.nytimes.com/podcasts.../LIGOChirp.mp3

[sgars]

^^
It is to understand the fundamentals of this that I picked up Stephen Hawkins book. But returned it without reading a page.

[echarcha]

Its an awesome discovery and success at actually recording these G waves. After I read the simplified explanation, I was happy as a student of science to realize that this is a breakthrough and proves Einstein's prediction of gravity waves!!

Our Indian scientists have also contributed a lot to this entire effort.

[Sane Less]

I am just happy that they discovered this now and not before I went to school... why because I would then have had to by-heart the formulas for these waves and how they affect mass and speed