Einstein: Spot on

Einstein with Tagore     (UNESCO Gallery)

It turns out that Einstein was correct:  The universe (like children) can be heard as well as seen.

The New York Times reports that the “sound of two black holes colliding a billion light years away” has now been heard and recorded. 

So what is the sound of two black holes clapping?  It is being described as “a fleeting chirp” and/or “a faint rising tone.”  The tone hit middle C before abruptly stopping.  You can listen for yourself via this link.

Bear in mind that this “scientific sound bite” is historically right up there with Alexander Graham Bell’s first telephone transmission and “Sputnik’s first beeps from orbit.”  It is the first direct evidence we have that gravitational waves not only exist, but also cause “ripples in the fabric of space-time.”

The universe is humming a sacred tune.  We can dance to its beat or trip all over ourselves.  

Resources

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/12/science/ligo-gravitational-waves-black-holes-einstein.html?_r=0

Copyright February 13, 2016 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved