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Cal State Fullerton Researchers Help Confirm Presence Of Gravitational Waves Predicted By Einstein

FULLERTON (CBSLA.com) — Ripples in the fabric of space-time called gravitational waves, predicted by Albert Einstein's 1915 general theory of relativity, have been detected for the first time by scientists, Cal State Fullerton announced Thursday.

Cal State Fullerton researchers were key contributors to the detection of gravitational waves that were first discovered on Sept. 14, 2015.

The detected gravitational waves were produced during the final fraction of a second of the merger of two black holes that took place 1.3 billion years ago, creating a single, more massive spinning black hole – an event that had been predicted but never observed, according to Cal State Fullerton researchers. Based on the observed signals, scientists estimate the black holes that collided were about 29 and 36 times the mass of the sun.

About 3 times the mass of the sun was converted into gravitational waves in a fraction of a second -- with a peak power output about 50 times that of the whole visible universe.   According to general relativity, a pair of black holes orbiting around each other lose energy through the emission of gravitational waves, causing them to gradually approach each other over billions of years, and then much more quickly in the final minutes.

During the final fraction of a second, the two black holes collide into each other at nearly one-half the speed of light and form a single more massive black hole, converting a portion of the combined black holes' mass to energy, according to Einstein's formula E=mc2.

This energy is emitted as a final strong burst of gravitational waves.

"It's a great day for gravitational physics," David Reitze, research professor and executive director of the observatory, told KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO.

The event means a new era of astronomy, in which scientists can measure the movements of black holes from across the universe by the gravitational waves they give off, according to Joshua Smith, an associate professor of physics, who is leading Cal State Fullerton's team of faculty and student physicists and mathematicians in the research of gravitational waves.

"Scientific advances in technology and astrophysics have now allowed us to observe two of Einstein's general theory of relativity's most elusive predictions: the existence of gravitational waves and black holes. From this point on, we will continue to observe the universe in this completely new and exciting way," Smith said in a statement.

The discovery, which will be published in the journal Physical Review Letters, was made by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) Scientific Collaboration and the Virgo Collaboration using data from the two LIGO detectors. The research was carried out by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, which includes more than 1,000 scientists from all over the world and is operated by Caltech and MIT.

(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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