An acoustical analogue of a galactic-scale gravitational-wave detector

Authors

Michael T. Lam
Joseph D. Romano, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Joey Key, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
M. E. Normandin, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
‪Jeffrey S. Hazboun

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-2018

Abstract

By precisely monitoring the “ticks” of Nature's most precise clocks (millisecond pulsars), scientists are trying to detect the “ripples in spacetime” (gravitational waves) produced by the inspirals of supermassive black holes in the centers of distant merging galaxies. Here, we describe a relatively simple demonstration that uses two metronomes and a microphone to illustrate several techniques used by pulsar astronomers to search for and detect gravitational waves. An adapted version of this demonstration could be used as an instructional laboratory investigation at the undergraduate level.

Comments

Copyright 2018 American Association of Physics Teachers. Original published version available at https://doi.org/10.1119/1.5050190

Recommended Citation

Lam, Michael T., Joseph D. Romano, Joey S. Key, Marc Normandin, and Jeffrey S. Hazboun. "An acoustical analogue of a galactic-scale gravitational-wave detector." American Journal of Physics 86, no. 10 (2018): 755-764.

Publication Title

American Journal of Physics

DOI

10.1119/1.5050190