SPOTTING the minuscule forces generated by a passing gravity wave could
become easier thanks to a new measurement technique developed by researchers in
Italy. Teams in the US, Germany and Italy are building huge detectors in the
hope that they will pick up the faint gravitational echoes of cataclysmic events
in deep space. The new work could make these giant instruments 10 times more
sensitive.
Gravity wave detectors are giant L-shaped devices with arms as long as 4
kilometres. Laser beams pass through vacuum tubes along the arms and bounce back
and forth between mirrors at either end, providing a…
