“Gravitational Waves” is an attractive and informative introduction to gravitational wave astronomy for high school and college undergraduate students. The poster invites the reader to learn how gravitational waves can teach us about our universe and describes how scientists are looking for these elusive waves.
Gravitational waves are signals from distant objects in the universe that can travel vast distances. Unlike light waves, gravitational waves are not blocked or altered by interactions with matter in the universe. Scientists hope gravitational waves will tell us what happens when massive stars collide or explode; and possibly even about the origins of our universe.
Scientists look for gravitational waves using enormous detectors that have two perpendicular arms. A passing gravitational wave will slightly increase the length of one arm while decreasing the other, and finely tuned lasers will pick up these distortions.
The US’s Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is the world’s largest gravitational wave detector, with sites in Hanford, Washington and Livingston, Louisiana.
"Gravitational Waves" Poster
Explanations of gravitational waves are interspersed with clear, detailed graphs and images.
LIGO
Introduction to LIGO and Gravitational Waves - the LIGO project’s website for the public
PhysicsCentral
Feature from APS’s public outreach website
Einstein@Home
A project supported by APS and LIGO to use idle time from computers around the world to aid the search for gravitational waves
NASA’s Imagine the Universe
On the Edge: Gravitational Waves - a NASA page intended for students in high school and up
Einstein Online
Gravitational Waves - published by the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) in Potsdam, Germany