What Is Spacetime Really Made Of?
Spacetime may emerge from a more fundamental reality. Figuring out how could unlock the most urgent goal in physics—a quantum theory of gravity -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.....»»
Gravitational wave, Venus missions get European green light
The European Space Agency gave the green light to two missions on Thursday, one to detect ripples in spacetime called gravitational waves and another to probe the secrets of Earth's closest neighboring planet Venus......»»
Scientists flip around gravitational-wave data analysis: Have LIGO and Virgo detected a merger of dark-matter stars?
Gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of spacetime that travel at the speed of light. These are produced in some of the most violent events in the universe, such as black-hole mergers, supernovae, or the Big Bang itself. Since their first det.....»»
New theory claims to unite Einstein"s gravity with quantum mechanics
A radical theory that consistently unifies gravity and quantum mechanics while preserving Einstein's classical concept of spacetime has been announced in two papers published simultaneously by UCL (University College London) physicists......»»
Civilizations could use gravitational lenses to transmit power from star to star
In 1916, famed theoretical physicist Albert Einstein put the finishing touches on his theory of general relativity, a geometric theory for how gravity alters the curvature of spacetime. The revolutionary theory remains foundational to our models of h.....»»
Next major X-ray mission set to launch
The X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) is ready to launch on 7 September 2023 to observe the most energetic objects and events in the cosmos. In doing so, it will unveil the evolution of the universe and the structure of spacetime......»»
After 15 years, pulsar timing yields evidence of cosmic background gravitational waves
The universe is humming with gravitational radiation—a very low-frequency rumble that rhythmically stretches and compresses spacetime and the matter embedded in it......»»
Study proposes combining continuum mechanics with Einstein field equations
Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity is a landmark in our understanding of the universe. It gave rise to the notion of a spacetime continuum against which all physical phenomena play out. But over the decades, it has inspired many questions.....»»
Time Flowed Five Times Slower Shortly after the Big Bang
Voracious black holes feeding on matter in the early universe display the curious spacetime phenomenon known as time dilation.....»»
CERN plans to collaborate with projects for future gravitational-wave observatories
Gravitational waves, like the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012, have made their mark on a decade of extraordinary discoveries in physics. Unlike gravity, which is created when massive objects leave their mark in the fabric of spacetime, gravitati.....»»
Pulsars could help map the black hole at the center of the Milky Way
The theory of general relativity (GR), proposed by Einstein over a century ago, remains one of the most well-known scientific postulates of all time. This theory, which explains how spacetime curvature is altered in the presence of massive objects, r.....»»
Astronomers discover supernova explosion through rare "cosmic magnifying glasses"
According to Einstein's general theory of relativity, time and space are fused together in a quantity known as spacetime. The theory suggests that massive objects, like a galaxy or galaxy clusters, can cause spacetime to curve......»»
New methods will allow for better tests of Einstein"s general theory of relativity using LIGO data
Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity describes how the fabric of space and time, or spacetime, is curved in response to mass. Our sun, for example, warps space around us such that planet Earth rolls around the sun like a marble tossed into.....»»
Curved spacetime in a quantum simulator
The theory of relativity works well when you want to explain cosmic-scale phenomena—such as the gravitational waves created when black holes collide. Quantum theory works well when describing particle-scale phenomena—such as the behavior of indiv.....»»
Black holes might be defects in spacetime
A team of theoretical physicists have discovered a strange structure in space-time that to an outside observer would look exactly like a black hole, but upon closer inspection would be anything but: they would be defects in the very fabric of the uni.....»»
An enormous galaxy cluster warps spacetime in this Hubble image
Much of the universe is too far away for even powerful telescopes to observe -- so researchers make use of a natural occurrence called gravitational lensing......»»
Physicists create new model of ringing black holes
When two black holes collide into each other to form a new bigger black hole, they violently roil spacetime around them, sending ripples, called gravitational waves, outward in all directions. Previous studies of black hole collisions modeled the beh.....»»
How to Measure Ripples in Spacetime
Using the giant Virgo interferometer in Tuscany, researchers are recording gravitational waves created by interstellar cataclysms as they wash through our planet......»»
Three time dimensions, one space dimension: Relativity of superluminal observers in 1+3 spacetime
How would our world be viewed by observers moving faster than light in a vacuum? Such a picture would be clearly different from what we encounter every day. "We should expect to see not only phenomena that happen spontaneously, without a deterministi.....»»
"Early dark energy" could explain the crisis in cosmology
In 1916, Einstein finished his theory of general relativity, which describes how gravitational forces alter the curvature of spacetime. Among other things, this theory predicted that the universe is expanding, which was confirmed by the observations.....»»
Simulations predict the existence of black hole radio-wave hot spots
Black holes, regions in spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing can escape from them, are among the most fascinating and widely studied cosmic phenomena. While there are now countless theories about their formation and underlying physics, m.....»»