Physicists have searched for ripples in the fabric of spacetime for nearly 100 years, ever since Albert Einstein's 1915 theory of relativity predicted they exist.
These ripples, called gravitational waves, happen when a massive celestial object suddenly moves, like when a star explodes, or when two massive objects collide, like the merging of two black holes.
These cataclysmic disturbances create ripples through space and time — the same way a rain drop can make ripples when it falls on the surface of a lake.
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) has been searching for these gravitational waves since 2002 with no luck. But a more powerful, advanced LIGO — about three times more sensitive than the original detector — started operating in September 2015.
And now a rumor is circulating that physicists at the new and improved LIGO have finally detected the elusive waves. If it's true, it will be one of the most important discoveries in physics in the last century.
The rumor first cropped up just a few weeks after the advanced LIGO started operating. Cosmologist Lawrence Krauss tweeted that LIGO may have found the elusive waves at last:
—Lawrence M. Krauss (@LKrauss1) September 25, 2015
—Lawrence M. Krauss (@LKrauss1) January 11, 2016
—Lawrence M. Krauss (@LKrauss1) January 11, 2016
—Robert McNees (@mcnees) January 11, 2016
—Robert McNees (@mcnees) January 11, 2016