Last month, scientists clamored over a tweet sent out by Lawrence M. Krauss, a theoretical physicist. According to Krauss, his sources from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory have confirmed to him evidence of the existence of gravitational Waves. Concerned parties from the observatory were quick to dispel the rumors. Gabriela Gonzalez, spokesperson from LIGO, explained that the team in charge of gravitational wave detection is still in the process of verifying their data and at that point results are not ready to be announced.
It has been a century since Albert Einstein forwarded the theory surrounding gravitational waves. According to Einstein, the fabric of space and time is littered with ripples caused by massive objects moving through space. While there have been indirect evidence of their existence, scientists have yet to find definite proof of the said waves. Until now, that is.
Just this Thursday, David Reitze, executive director of LIGO, announced the ground breaking discovery at the National Press Club in Washington.
"We have detected gravitational waves. We did it" exclaimed Reitze.
Scientists from LIGO have since explained how they came about the evidence proving the existence of gravitational waves. According to Deirdre Shoemaker, one of the researchers at LIGO, the team detected two black holes merging using only gravitational radiation.
Shoemaker has further detailed the arduous process it took for her team to prove their discovery. According to the scientist, it took them half a year to even believe their own discovery.
"It took six months of convincing ourselves that it was correct. It goes beyond that five-sigma to proving that nothing was happening with the equipment that couldn't be understood" exclaimed Shoemaker.
The team has also gushed about the possibilities of what lies next following the discovery. The scientific community is more than thrilled to finally see the universe in a new and different light.