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Ripples in Spacetime: Einstein, Gravitational Waves, and the Future of Astronomy
"The detection of gravitational waves - ripples in spacetime - by the Ligo-Virgo observatories has already been called the scientific coup of this century and lead to the scientists responsible being awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize for Physics. Govert Schilling recounts the struggles that threatened to derail the quest and describes the detector's astounding precision, weaving far-reaching discoveries about the universe into a gripping story of ambition and perseverance."
345 pages, Hardcover
First published July 31, 2017
71 people are currently reading
934 people want to read
About the author
Govert Schilling
115 books44 followersGovert Schilling is freelance wetenschapsjournalist en publicist. Hij schrijft over sterrenkunde en ruimteonderzoek voor kranten en tijdschriften in binnen- en buitenland, o.a. voor de Volkskrant, Eos magazine, Science, New Scientist, Sky & Telescope en BBC Sky at Night. Hij publiceerde tientallen boeken over uiteenlopende sterrenkundige onderwerpen, waarvan sommige zijn vertaald, o.a. in het Engels, Duits en Chinees. Regelmatig geeft hij op radio en tv toelichting op ontwikkelingen in de astronomie. Daarnaast verzorgt hij publiekslezingen en cursussen, en is hij eindredacteur van de populaire website allesoversterrenkunde.nl.
Govert is autodidact op het gebied van de astronomie en de journalistiek. Hij was jarenlang actief in de Jongerenwerkgroep (JWG) voor sterrenkunde, was van 1980 tot 1987 hoofdredacteur van het sterrenkundig tijdschrift Zenit, en was tot 1998 werkzaam als programmaleider bij het Artis Planetarium in Amsterdam.
Voor zijn werk op het gebied van de popularisering van de sterrenkunde ontving Govert diverse prijzen en onderscheidingen, waaronder de Simon Stevin-kijker van de Koninklijke Nederlandse Vereniging voor Weer- en Sterrenkunde KNVWS (1989, samen met astronaut Wubbo Ockels), de Eureka-oeuvreprijs van de Nederlandse organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek NWO (2002) en de David N. Schramm Award van de High-Energy Astrophysics Division van de American Astronomical Society (2014). In 2007 werd planetoïde (10986) Govert naar hem genoemd door de Internationale Astronomische Unie (IAU); in 2021 is hij benoemd tot erelid van deze organisatie.
Govert Schilling is getrouwd, heeft een zoon en een dochter, en woont in Amersfoort.
Govert is autodidact op het gebied van de astronomie en de journalistiek. Hij was jarenlang actief in de Jongerenwerkgroep (JWG) voor sterrenkunde, was van 1980 tot 1987 hoofdredacteur van het sterrenkundig tijdschrift Zenit, en was tot 1998 werkzaam als programmaleider bij het Artis Planetarium in Amsterdam.
Voor zijn werk op het gebied van de popularisering van de sterrenkunde ontving Govert diverse prijzen en onderscheidingen, waaronder de Simon Stevin-kijker van de Koninklijke Nederlandse Vereniging voor Weer- en Sterrenkunde KNVWS (1989, samen met astronaut Wubbo Ockels), de Eureka-oeuvreprijs van de Nederlandse organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek NWO (2002) en de David N. Schramm Award van de High-Energy Astrophysics Division van de American Astronomical Society (2014). In 2007 werd planetoïde (10986) Govert naar hem genoemd door de Internationale Astronomische Unie (IAU); in 2021 is hij benoemd tot erelid van deze organisatie.
Govert Schilling is getrouwd, heeft een zoon en een dochter, en woont in Amersfoort.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
August 20, 2017
The only example of Govert Schilling's work I'd come across was his co-authorship of the quirky but ultimately unsatisfying Tweeting the Universe, so it was interesting to see a 'proper' book by him on the timely topic of gravitational waves.
I struggled a little with his writing style - it's very jerky, jumping from one topic to another in a kind of popular science stream of consciousness, but once I got used to it, there is no doubt that he gives a thorough non-technical picture not only of gravitational waves themselves, but all kinds of background material from Einstein's biography to aspects of general relativity that really don't have much to do with gravitational waves. In a sense this a curse of the topic - because gravitational wave astronomy is so new (at the time of writing fewer than 4 confirmed observations) there's a limit to how much there is to write about.
What Schilling does well is the science explanation. His description of gravitational waves themselves is the best I've seen anywhere, and he gives us plenty of information on the process that led to LIGO (the observatories that have made the discoveries). He's also good on the way the availability of gravitational wave data has the potential to expand the abilities of astronomers.
Less satisfactory is the history of science. I know popular science author John Gribbin would be squirming at the repeated use of 'Einstein's theory of general relativity' (it should be general theory of relativity), but this, for me, was a lesser error than some of the historical misinformation. We're told that Aristotle proposed the 'first model of the universe' - but there were plenty around earlier, such as Anaximander's, predating Aristotle by around 150 years. Equally we're told that 'Lipperhey' invented the telescope. Leaving aside his name being Lippershey, we know for certain he didn't as he attempted to patent it and failed because of prior claims (not to mention the Digges's work in the UK etc.) And, bizarrely, Schilling tells us that Einstein got the idea of a fixed speed for light from Michelson-Morley, rather than Maxwell.
Luckily there's only a relatively small part of the book that is history of science and, as mentioned, the parts explaining the science are much better. The description of Weber bars, the building of LIGO and the battles involved along the way are told much more engagingly in Black Hole Blues, but if it's just the science parts you want, this is a good one to go for.
I struggled a little with his writing style - it's very jerky, jumping from one topic to another in a kind of popular science stream of consciousness, but once I got used to it, there is no doubt that he gives a thorough non-technical picture not only of gravitational waves themselves, but all kinds of background material from Einstein's biography to aspects of general relativity that really don't have much to do with gravitational waves. In a sense this a curse of the topic - because gravitational wave astronomy is so new (at the time of writing fewer than 4 confirmed observations) there's a limit to how much there is to write about.
What Schilling does well is the science explanation. His description of gravitational waves themselves is the best I've seen anywhere, and he gives us plenty of information on the process that led to LIGO (the observatories that have made the discoveries). He's also good on the way the availability of gravitational wave data has the potential to expand the abilities of astronomers.
Less satisfactory is the history of science. I know popular science author John Gribbin would be squirming at the repeated use of 'Einstein's theory of general relativity' (it should be general theory of relativity), but this, for me, was a lesser error than some of the historical misinformation. We're told that Aristotle proposed the 'first model of the universe' - but there were plenty around earlier, such as Anaximander's, predating Aristotle by around 150 years. Equally we're told that 'Lipperhey' invented the telescope. Leaving aside his name being Lippershey, we know for certain he didn't as he attempted to patent it and failed because of prior claims (not to mention the Digges's work in the UK etc.) And, bizarrely, Schilling tells us that Einstein got the idea of a fixed speed for light from Michelson-Morley, rather than Maxwell.
Luckily there's only a relatively small part of the book that is history of science and, as mentioned, the parts explaining the science are much better. The description of Weber bars, the building of LIGO and the battles involved along the way are told much more engagingly in Black Hole Blues, but if it's just the science parts you want, this is a good one to go for.
February 9, 2018
These videos chronicle the collision of a neutron star collision captured by LIGO after this book was already completed. It is worth watching when reading this book.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/16/sc...
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/1...
Tonight I was reading chapter 11 of this book at Panera while eating my salad. Govert Schilling was discussing the first detection of gravitational waves in 2015. I remember hearing the rumors and then watching the feed as they announced they had indeed found gravitational waves-- thus proving the existence of black holes and confirming Einstein's predictions 100 years before. I cried back then from the sheer of awe of it and spent the next two days making up stupid nerdy memes about LIGO. I couldn't help it. I was obsessed. I could not help tearing up again in Panera while I ate my salad and sipped my tea. Any passerby would have thought I was engrossed in a tragic novel, but I was engrossed in the most amazing story imaginable: It was the story of how humans being found a way to communicate with black holes! Freaking black holes! That is AMAZING. I marvel at it each time I think about it. Schilling went into detail about what it took for the many, many humans to achieve this seemingly impossible goal. He was slightly long winded when doing so, but do yourself a favor and read every word of it. Imagine what it took to make the waves of a black hole (or neutron star) shoot into a thin beam that then had to crash into another wave that had also been converted into a thin beam. I mean, wow! Human beings figured this out. And for their efforts, the reward was colossal. I am in a state of complete awe and took as long as I possibly could to finish this book, savoring it, reading pages over and over, imagining myself floating in space, imagining the inner workings of a universe that is vast, mysterious, complicated, and honestly the most incredible thing I can think of to learn about.
It would be hard to put into words how happy I am this book came along. I was so desperate for a book about LIGO ever since the first discoveries, I even read Janna Levin Black Hole Blues, despite the fact that reading her first book made me never want to read another book of hers again. It was a huge disappointment. But then this came along. I cannot say that every page was filled with magic. There were times I felt Schillings explanations could have been a bit shorter and more to the point, but when he excelled, he really excelled. The format was beautiful. Schilling led the reader through LIGO's discoveries while taking time, at each step, to teach the reader about the basics of how the universe works. He infused awe into each and every explanation of star formation, fusion, planet formation, black hole dynamics, star death, the economy of stars in relation to their size, what different waves mean depending on the size of the star or black hole, etc. It was a symphony of epic proportion, weaving in an out of the larger story of LIGO's detection of gravitational waves (what he calls Einstein Waves).
After explaining how the universe works and what we know so far from the efforts made by those at LIGO and other centers, Shcilling looked at what is next? His discussion about the future of studying gravitational waves was not as exciting as the first part of the book, but it was still extremely informative. He discussed LISA, which will measure gravitational waves in space, as well as the different types of astronomy that have allowed and continue to allow us to see and map the universe.
He ended by reminding the reader that the only way black holes can communicate with us, based on the tools we have available, is through their gravitational waves. This author hopes they communicate a lot in the future, including letting us detect the actual gravitational waves that occurred at the Big Bang, and so do I!
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/16/sc...
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/1...
Tonight I was reading chapter 11 of this book at Panera while eating my salad. Govert Schilling was discussing the first detection of gravitational waves in 2015. I remember hearing the rumors and then watching the feed as they announced they had indeed found gravitational waves-- thus proving the existence of black holes and confirming Einstein's predictions 100 years before. I cried back then from the sheer of awe of it and spent the next two days making up stupid nerdy memes about LIGO. I couldn't help it. I was obsessed. I could not help tearing up again in Panera while I ate my salad and sipped my tea. Any passerby would have thought I was engrossed in a tragic novel, but I was engrossed in the most amazing story imaginable: It was the story of how humans being found a way to communicate with black holes! Freaking black holes! That is AMAZING. I marvel at it each time I think about it. Schilling went into detail about what it took for the many, many humans to achieve this seemingly impossible goal. He was slightly long winded when doing so, but do yourself a favor and read every word of it. Imagine what it took to make the waves of a black hole (or neutron star) shoot into a thin beam that then had to crash into another wave that had also been converted into a thin beam. I mean, wow! Human beings figured this out. And for their efforts, the reward was colossal. I am in a state of complete awe and took as long as I possibly could to finish this book, savoring it, reading pages over and over, imagining myself floating in space, imagining the inner workings of a universe that is vast, mysterious, complicated, and honestly the most incredible thing I can think of to learn about.
It would be hard to put into words how happy I am this book came along. I was so desperate for a book about LIGO ever since the first discoveries, I even read Janna Levin Black Hole Blues, despite the fact that reading her first book made me never want to read another book of hers again. It was a huge disappointment. But then this came along. I cannot say that every page was filled with magic. There were times I felt Schillings explanations could have been a bit shorter and more to the point, but when he excelled, he really excelled. The format was beautiful. Schilling led the reader through LIGO's discoveries while taking time, at each step, to teach the reader about the basics of how the universe works. He infused awe into each and every explanation of star formation, fusion, planet formation, black hole dynamics, star death, the economy of stars in relation to their size, what different waves mean depending on the size of the star or black hole, etc. It was a symphony of epic proportion, weaving in an out of the larger story of LIGO's detection of gravitational waves (what he calls Einstein Waves).
After explaining how the universe works and what we know so far from the efforts made by those at LIGO and other centers, Shcilling looked at what is next? His discussion about the future of studying gravitational waves was not as exciting as the first part of the book, but it was still extremely informative. He discussed LISA, which will measure gravitational waves in space, as well as the different types of astronomy that have allowed and continue to allow us to see and map the universe.
He ended by reminding the reader that the only way black holes can communicate with us, based on the tools we have available, is through their gravitational waves. This author hopes they communicate a lot in the future, including letting us detect the actual gravitational waves that occurred at the Big Bang, and so do I!
October 3, 2018
The search for gravity’s kiss
This book is for readers interested in learning the scientific, historical, and personal stories behind the detection of gravitational waves. This story is an incredible scientific odyssey. It conveys a sense of awe and excitement about a century of scientific investment of time, labor and technology. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is a large-scale physics experiment and observatory to detect cosmic gravitational waves. This instrument can detect a change in the distance from Earth to Proxima Centauri (distance of 4.24 light years) with an accuracy smaller than the width of a human hair. As of March 2018, LIGO made six detections of gravitational waves from six different sources; the first five were colliding black-hole pairs, and the sixth was due collision of two neutron stars Neutron stars simultaneously produces optical signals detected by gamma ray satellites and optical telescopes. The orbiting planets, orbiting stars, binary stars do not emit detectable level of gravitational waves. But neutron star mergers and black hole collisions produce enough unwarping of spacetime and energy to carry through the universe.
The highlight of this book is about the first detection gravitational wave referred to as GW 150914. The characteristic chirp of GW150914 most closely matched the theoretical prediction of waveform for two black holes with 36 and 29 times the mass of Sun. This originated in a remote galaxy. Two black holes (with a diameter of few hundred miles) were orbiting each other. They were swirling each other for millions of years, and as they approached each other at half the speed of light and they merged within a fraction of seconds resulting in a black hole of 62 solar mass. The equivalent three solar mass was converted into energy released in the form intense electromagnetic radiation, and the intensely warped spacetime under the gravity of black holes were released as gravitational (spacetime) waves. Immediately after the event horizon, spacetime stretched and elongated in its path like waves. Thus partially separating the components of matter in its path; the atomic nuclei, electronic structure of atoms and molecules were instantly destabilized from their configurations. In much of physics, spacetime is treated as static fabric upon which matter and energy behave according to laws of physics. But here the spacetime itself becomes active participants in the operation of physics. Heavier elements (beyond iron of the periodic chart) originates during the black hole/neutron star mergers and part of it could be due to disruption of space and reassembly of nucleus. Fortunately for life, these cataclysms occur less than once in a million years in Milky Way Galaxy, according to physicist Martin Rees.
General Relativity predicted that spacetime produces gravitational waves; gravity is essentially bending of spacetime in presence of matter. Large cosmic bodies like neutron stars and black holes produce very large curvature in spacetime. Two effects operates according to relativity: Taking earth as an example, the geodetic effect (spacetime as curvature (“the missing inch”). This is the amount by which the earth wraps the local spacetime in which it resides. Number two, the frame-dragging effect (the rotating matter drags spacetime (spacetime as viscous fluid): The amount by which the rotating earth drags local spacetime around with it.
Generally the analogy of a bowling ball on trampoline is visualized for spacetime bending in presence of large cosmic bodies. Spacetime is highly elastic like trampoline, and earth produces a symmetrical curvature around it like a bowling ball on trampoline (geodetic effect). When we spin the bowling ball on its own axis, this trampoline curvature around the spinning bowling ball will not be symmetric anymore, but this spinning motion will drag along the fabric of the trampoline to a small but noticeable effect. This produces an additional effect, relatively smaller (than geodetic effect) in the precession of the rotational axis of bowling ball. This is called rotational frame-dragging. A combination of these two effects produce a gravitational (spacetime curvature) wave. To help this visualization even better, one must remember that spacetime does not have matter or energy like trampoline, and space does not need matter or energy to exist. The orbiting planets, and stars do not emit detectable level of gravitational waves although they exist. Hence colliding neutron stars and black holes emit detectable waves because of their intense gravity that warps enormous amount of spacetime. A category 5 hurricane produces up to 180 mph of wind, and the eye of the hurricane could be longer than one mile deep in the ocean. This wind power help the hurricane to pack up enormous amount of water and unleash it upon hitting the land. Black holes also warp spacetime and unleash it upon collision with another black hole.
This is an interesting book for anyone interested in the experiences of detecting gravitational waves. This is a highly readable book; recommended.
This book is for readers interested in learning the scientific, historical, and personal stories behind the detection of gravitational waves. This story is an incredible scientific odyssey. It conveys a sense of awe and excitement about a century of scientific investment of time, labor and technology. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is a large-scale physics experiment and observatory to detect cosmic gravitational waves. This instrument can detect a change in the distance from Earth to Proxima Centauri (distance of 4.24 light years) with an accuracy smaller than the width of a human hair. As of March 2018, LIGO made six detections of gravitational waves from six different sources; the first five were colliding black-hole pairs, and the sixth was due collision of two neutron stars Neutron stars simultaneously produces optical signals detected by gamma ray satellites and optical telescopes. The orbiting planets, orbiting stars, binary stars do not emit detectable level of gravitational waves. But neutron star mergers and black hole collisions produce enough unwarping of spacetime and energy to carry through the universe.
The highlight of this book is about the first detection gravitational wave referred to as GW 150914. The characteristic chirp of GW150914 most closely matched the theoretical prediction of waveform for two black holes with 36 and 29 times the mass of Sun. This originated in a remote galaxy. Two black holes (with a diameter of few hundred miles) were orbiting each other. They were swirling each other for millions of years, and as they approached each other at half the speed of light and they merged within a fraction of seconds resulting in a black hole of 62 solar mass. The equivalent three solar mass was converted into energy released in the form intense electromagnetic radiation, and the intensely warped spacetime under the gravity of black holes were released as gravitational (spacetime) waves. Immediately after the event horizon, spacetime stretched and elongated in its path like waves. Thus partially separating the components of matter in its path; the atomic nuclei, electronic structure of atoms and molecules were instantly destabilized from their configurations. In much of physics, spacetime is treated as static fabric upon which matter and energy behave according to laws of physics. But here the spacetime itself becomes active participants in the operation of physics. Heavier elements (beyond iron of the periodic chart) originates during the black hole/neutron star mergers and part of it could be due to disruption of space and reassembly of nucleus. Fortunately for life, these cataclysms occur less than once in a million years in Milky Way Galaxy, according to physicist Martin Rees.
General Relativity predicted that spacetime produces gravitational waves; gravity is essentially bending of spacetime in presence of matter. Large cosmic bodies like neutron stars and black holes produce very large curvature in spacetime. Two effects operates according to relativity: Taking earth as an example, the geodetic effect (spacetime as curvature (“the missing inch”). This is the amount by which the earth wraps the local spacetime in which it resides. Number two, the frame-dragging effect (the rotating matter drags spacetime (spacetime as viscous fluid): The amount by which the rotating earth drags local spacetime around with it.
Generally the analogy of a bowling ball on trampoline is visualized for spacetime bending in presence of large cosmic bodies. Spacetime is highly elastic like trampoline, and earth produces a symmetrical curvature around it like a bowling ball on trampoline (geodetic effect). When we spin the bowling ball on its own axis, this trampoline curvature around the spinning bowling ball will not be symmetric anymore, but this spinning motion will drag along the fabric of the trampoline to a small but noticeable effect. This produces an additional effect, relatively smaller (than geodetic effect) in the precession of the rotational axis of bowling ball. This is called rotational frame-dragging. A combination of these two effects produce a gravitational (spacetime curvature) wave. To help this visualization even better, one must remember that spacetime does not have matter or energy like trampoline, and space does not need matter or energy to exist. The orbiting planets, and stars do not emit detectable level of gravitational waves although they exist. Hence colliding neutron stars and black holes emit detectable waves because of their intense gravity that warps enormous amount of spacetime. A category 5 hurricane produces up to 180 mph of wind, and the eye of the hurricane could be longer than one mile deep in the ocean. This wind power help the hurricane to pack up enormous amount of water and unleash it upon hitting the land. Black holes also warp spacetime and unleash it upon collision with another black hole.
This is an interesting book for anyone interested in the experiences of detecting gravitational waves. This is a highly readable book; recommended.
May 9, 2018
I don’t usually review non-fiction books because I’m there to learn, not criticize, unless the book is obviously wrong (I’m looking at you, Hillary). But I must sing the praises of Gouvert Schilling’s Ripples in Spacetime, which concerns gravitational waves; specifically, the astonishing and world-changing first detection of such a wave on 14 Sep 2015 by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO). What, you’re not astonished?
You should be.
So what’s a gravitational wave and what’s the big deal? Let me take a Great Unwashed stab at it: a gravitational wave is a ripple in reality, a stretching…for lack of a better word…of time and space. Einstein (who else?) predicted that the extremely powerful forces of star collapse and/or black hole collisions could actually warp time and space, which was nice theory until 14 September and then it was no longer theory. This certainty to which you cling? It ain’t there. Everything regarded as fixed and permanent is not.
Now, yes, I know, I have glossed and short-shrifted much here and even the dullest of physicist is rolling eyes at my Great Unwashedness and tutting over things I have obviously left out or misunderstood and fine, great, condescend much? Point is, I would not have even this lower-than-basic grasp if it wasn’t for this book. At the risk of hyperbole, Schilling is Prometheus bringing fire. At least to me.
Because now, I grasp stars. Didn’t used to.
I wanted to be an astronomer growing up. And a cowboy, and a firefighter, yeah, yeah, pretty much every average kid wants to be all three at one point (imagine how cool a cowboy firefighter astronomer would be). But while I never had a horse or red truck, I did have a dinky little 60x telescope through which I swore I saw the Apollo 11 command module circling the moon that night in July 1969. I was going to work on Mt. Palomar and wear a white lab coat and squint through eyepieces and, one day, see the Eye of God squinting back. So what stopped me?
Math.
By the time I got to Algebra II, I was a goner. Just. Didn’t. Get. It. And I was a good student, got A’s in everything…except math. C’s, mostly. And because one of the basic requirements for squinting through eyepieces was math beyond Algebra II, I was doomed. And frustrated. Why don’t I get math? My brother, who dropped out of high school, grasped physics and calculus and trig like it was simple addition and subtraction. ‘Course, he has a genius IQ, proof that school bores the uber-smart so much they dispense with it. I do not have a genius IQ. I have one high enough to know what I want, but low enough to prevent its accession. Not for lack of trying. I took a basic astronomy course in college as a backdoor way in but, as soon as we reached star composition, got lost. So I put away that childish thing of being an astronomer because I will never, ever, get this. And then I read this book.
And now grasp stars.
Not enough to rekindle that long dormant astronomer career but enough to understand what I squint at through eyepieces. The endlessness of space, the time traveling, the mind-blowing amounts of energy involved, the speeds…man. Schilling explains it all in very basic language that, at times, sounds a bit patronizing except he seems to know that guys like me are willing to be taught so he stays on this side of snobbery. Which is fine; at this point in my life, I am willing to be taught. His detailed and patient description of how neutron stars form is a grand example. Man. The sheer power involved in the squeezing of atoms to such densities is downright terrifying.
If I have a nit, it’s that Schilling takes a journalist approach to the entire gravitational wave industry and reports on every. Single. Program. Out there. Even ones still on the drawing board and fine, great, I get that, but really, spend more time on what all this means. Is my Monday now going to be longer? Is my drive to the beach shorter? Should I time either or both to coincide with the next supernova? We Unwashed want to know.
Good job, Mr. Schilling. How ‘bout you do the next book on atoms, another concept I never understood and still don’t. You mean, this rock I’m holding in my hand is nothing but billions of little solar systems?
Hmm.
You should be.
So what’s a gravitational wave and what’s the big deal? Let me take a Great Unwashed stab at it: a gravitational wave is a ripple in reality, a stretching…for lack of a better word…of time and space. Einstein (who else?) predicted that the extremely powerful forces of star collapse and/or black hole collisions could actually warp time and space, which was nice theory until 14 September and then it was no longer theory. This certainty to which you cling? It ain’t there. Everything regarded as fixed and permanent is not.
Now, yes, I know, I have glossed and short-shrifted much here and even the dullest of physicist is rolling eyes at my Great Unwashedness and tutting over things I have obviously left out or misunderstood and fine, great, condescend much? Point is, I would not have even this lower-than-basic grasp if it wasn’t for this book. At the risk of hyperbole, Schilling is Prometheus bringing fire. At least to me.
Because now, I grasp stars. Didn’t used to.
I wanted to be an astronomer growing up. And a cowboy, and a firefighter, yeah, yeah, pretty much every average kid wants to be all three at one point (imagine how cool a cowboy firefighter astronomer would be). But while I never had a horse or red truck, I did have a dinky little 60x telescope through which I swore I saw the Apollo 11 command module circling the moon that night in July 1969. I was going to work on Mt. Palomar and wear a white lab coat and squint through eyepieces and, one day, see the Eye of God squinting back. So what stopped me?
Math.
By the time I got to Algebra II, I was a goner. Just. Didn’t. Get. It. And I was a good student, got A’s in everything…except math. C’s, mostly. And because one of the basic requirements for squinting through eyepieces was math beyond Algebra II, I was doomed. And frustrated. Why don’t I get math? My brother, who dropped out of high school, grasped physics and calculus and trig like it was simple addition and subtraction. ‘Course, he has a genius IQ, proof that school bores the uber-smart so much they dispense with it. I do not have a genius IQ. I have one high enough to know what I want, but low enough to prevent its accession. Not for lack of trying. I took a basic astronomy course in college as a backdoor way in but, as soon as we reached star composition, got lost. So I put away that childish thing of being an astronomer because I will never, ever, get this. And then I read this book.
And now grasp stars.
Not enough to rekindle that long dormant astronomer career but enough to understand what I squint at through eyepieces. The endlessness of space, the time traveling, the mind-blowing amounts of energy involved, the speeds…man. Schilling explains it all in very basic language that, at times, sounds a bit patronizing except he seems to know that guys like me are willing to be taught so he stays on this side of snobbery. Which is fine; at this point in my life, I am willing to be taught. His detailed and patient description of how neutron stars form is a grand example. Man. The sheer power involved in the squeezing of atoms to such densities is downright terrifying.
If I have a nit, it’s that Schilling takes a journalist approach to the entire gravitational wave industry and reports on every. Single. Program. Out there. Even ones still on the drawing board and fine, great, I get that, but really, spend more time on what all this means. Is my Monday now going to be longer? Is my drive to the beach shorter? Should I time either or both to coincide with the next supernova? We Unwashed want to know.
Good job, Mr. Schilling. How ‘bout you do the next book on atoms, another concept I never understood and still don’t. You mean, this rock I’m holding in my hand is nothing but billions of little solar systems?
Hmm.
January 10, 2023
Occasionally repetitive, insufficiently detailed, mostly ignores the scientists in favor of the science, regrettably dated. Still, a good overview of gravitational wave astronomy.
February 29, 2024
Already a atrong candidate for my favourite book of the year!
May 4, 2018
Read before teaching a class on Modern Physics.
"Modern science is based on the principle: 'Give us one free miracle, and we'll explain the rest.' The one free miracle is the appearance of all the mass and energy in the universe and all the laws that govern it in a single instant from nothing. ~ Terence McKenna. "
"Modern science is based on the principle: 'Give us one free miracle, and we'll explain the rest.' The one free miracle is the appearance of all the mass and energy in the universe and all the laws that govern it in a single instant from nothing. ~ Terence McKenna. "
September 25, 2017
The first observation of gravitational waves happened on September 14 2015, and was announced the next February. This book is a very good popular explanation of what this discovery is all about. I didn't learn much from it because I followed the path to the discovery, and even took a tour of LIGO Hanford with my stepson in December 2015, but if I ever need to recommend a popular book on the topic, this will be it.
December 13, 2017
In another book review I said that it’s easy to tell the difference between a book written by a scientist and a book written about science by a professional writer. This is the latter. Nothing wrong with that, of course — you trade the first-hand account of the scientist involved in a field for the third person narrative, by someone whose trade is writing and telling a good story.
Really, it’s a choice for the reader. Do you want to focus on the science or on the story? Of course, the author tries to do both, but, in this case, it’s the story that takes precedence, with sometimes explicit time-outs to explain the science (e.g., a chapter on the Big Bang).
The core of the book is the story of the first confirmed detection of gravitational waves, generated by colliding black holes, in September, 2015, by LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) in Hanford, Washington and Livingston, Louisiana.
Schilling takes us through the history leading up to gravitational wave detection, from their prediction in general relativity through early attempts to detect their presence, and on to the surprisingly quick detection once LIGO came online. He takes some pains to explain both the history — gravitational waves were speculated upon prior to Einstein’s publications — and some of the physics behind them.
Exactly what a gravitational wave is requires some explanation. Typically, waves are explained through analogy — a rock falls into a pond, causing waves to propagate through the pond’s water. But the analogy falls short. There is no medium like the water in the pond — the waves are ripples in space, or spacetime, itself. The ripples don’t propagate through space, the waves are waves in space itself — expansions and contractions in spacetime caused by gravitational events, like a collision between black holes. It doesn’t take a cataclysmic event like a collision of black holes to create gravitational waves, but it does take an event of that magnitude to trigger current detection technology.
Schilling’s story captures the drama of the detection, but he also, rightly I think, tells the story of how the detectors were built. Gravitational waves were theoretical. No one had observed them. They were predicted, and their effects were observed. But to actually detect them was going to take a serious investment of time and money, not to mention the careers of the scientists involved. Getting funding for detecting something that may or may not exist, and may or may not be detectable with the planned instruments — that’s not an easy thing to go to funding sources with, in the United States or elsewhere.
And what is the payoff?
Confirming a principal prediction of general relativity is a huge payoff for scientists. Knowing that our account of the universe is confirmed at such a foundational level not only increases our confidence in that account. But it also sets constraints around where we have to go next, in the looming problem of reconciling quantum theory with general relativity. Some scientists expected, and may still expect, gravitational waves to expose problems in relativity theory that will lead us to that reconciliation. So far, general relativity is left standing in its predictions.
Maybe more than anything else, though, gravitational wave detection presents us with what Schilling describes as a kind of additional sense modality. Gravitational waves are a wholly different phenomenon from electromagnetic radiation, sound waves, or any other medium through which we can observe what happens in the universe. When we opened our extended senses to radio, microwave, and other non-optical parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, we detected things that were completely unknown, like the cosmic microwave background legacy of the big bang. The ability to detect gravitational waves doesn’t just open another part of the same spectrum, but a completely different medium for observation. As Schilling says, it’s probably what will surprise us that will turn out to be most valuable.
And in fact observing gravitational waves has some distinct advantages over observations of electromagnetic radiation. Gravitational waves are not absorbed or reflected by dust or gas — emissions from their points of origin travel unhindered to our detectors. And some currently poorly understood phenomena, like dark matter and dark energy, have especially interesting gravitational properties and effects, maybe best studied via gravitational wave astronomy, complementing more traditional astronomy. Schilling teases some of those possibilities in his final chapter.
And gravitational wave detection may help us to understand some of the missing pieces in the story of the universe’s evolution from the Big Bang. "Primordial black holes” may be detectable via gravitational waves and give us some clues to those missing pieces.
The universe is actually heavily populated with natural gravitational wave detectors — pulsars. Pulsars emit highly regular, fast pulses of radiation — their regularity, fast pace, and strength of signal make them natural clocks. If there is a change in the period of a pulsar’s signal, something has caused it, and the something might be the stretching or contracting of space via gravitational waves.
Observations of changes in pulsar timing via radio telescopes are one active area for gravitational wave detection.
Schilling’s later chapters look forward to other sorts of detectors, extensions of the design behind LIGO and the similar Virgo detector in Italy. These include space-based detectors like the European Space Agency’s long-planned LISA, and an underground detector, KAGRA, in Japan, as well as a LIGO-like detector in India. An even more ambitious ground-based detector called ET (Einstein Telescope) is also in planning stages, and an American project, Cosmic Explorer, with yet greater sensitivity to detect fainter and fainter gravitational waves is in idea-stage.
If you’re looking to catch up on the story of gravitational waves, and maybe go on to more depth on the science itself, this is a great place to start. Schilling is a good writer, he knows enough about the science to explain it for a relatively non-technical audience, and he knows how to tell the story.
Really, it’s a choice for the reader. Do you want to focus on the science or on the story? Of course, the author tries to do both, but, in this case, it’s the story that takes precedence, with sometimes explicit time-outs to explain the science (e.g., a chapter on the Big Bang).
The core of the book is the story of the first confirmed detection of gravitational waves, generated by colliding black holes, in September, 2015, by LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) in Hanford, Washington and Livingston, Louisiana.
Schilling takes us through the history leading up to gravitational wave detection, from their prediction in general relativity through early attempts to detect their presence, and on to the surprisingly quick detection once LIGO came online. He takes some pains to explain both the history — gravitational waves were speculated upon prior to Einstein’s publications — and some of the physics behind them.
Exactly what a gravitational wave is requires some explanation. Typically, waves are explained through analogy — a rock falls into a pond, causing waves to propagate through the pond’s water. But the analogy falls short. There is no medium like the water in the pond — the waves are ripples in space, or spacetime, itself. The ripples don’t propagate through space, the waves are waves in space itself — expansions and contractions in spacetime caused by gravitational events, like a collision between black holes. It doesn’t take a cataclysmic event like a collision of black holes to create gravitational waves, but it does take an event of that magnitude to trigger current detection technology.
Schilling’s story captures the drama of the detection, but he also, rightly I think, tells the story of how the detectors were built. Gravitational waves were theoretical. No one had observed them. They were predicted, and their effects were observed. But to actually detect them was going to take a serious investment of time and money, not to mention the careers of the scientists involved. Getting funding for detecting something that may or may not exist, and may or may not be detectable with the planned instruments — that’s not an easy thing to go to funding sources with, in the United States or elsewhere.
And what is the payoff?
Confirming a principal prediction of general relativity is a huge payoff for scientists. Knowing that our account of the universe is confirmed at such a foundational level not only increases our confidence in that account. But it also sets constraints around where we have to go next, in the looming problem of reconciling quantum theory with general relativity. Some scientists expected, and may still expect, gravitational waves to expose problems in relativity theory that will lead us to that reconciliation. So far, general relativity is left standing in its predictions.
Maybe more than anything else, though, gravitational wave detection presents us with what Schilling describes as a kind of additional sense modality. Gravitational waves are a wholly different phenomenon from electromagnetic radiation, sound waves, or any other medium through which we can observe what happens in the universe. When we opened our extended senses to radio, microwave, and other non-optical parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, we detected things that were completely unknown, like the cosmic microwave background legacy of the big bang. The ability to detect gravitational waves doesn’t just open another part of the same spectrum, but a completely different medium for observation. As Schilling says, it’s probably what will surprise us that will turn out to be most valuable.
And in fact observing gravitational waves has some distinct advantages over observations of electromagnetic radiation. Gravitational waves are not absorbed or reflected by dust or gas — emissions from their points of origin travel unhindered to our detectors. And some currently poorly understood phenomena, like dark matter and dark energy, have especially interesting gravitational properties and effects, maybe best studied via gravitational wave astronomy, complementing more traditional astronomy. Schilling teases some of those possibilities in his final chapter.
And gravitational wave detection may help us to understand some of the missing pieces in the story of the universe’s evolution from the Big Bang. "Primordial black holes” may be detectable via gravitational waves and give us some clues to those missing pieces.
The universe is actually heavily populated with natural gravitational wave detectors — pulsars. Pulsars emit highly regular, fast pulses of radiation — their regularity, fast pace, and strength of signal make them natural clocks. If there is a change in the period of a pulsar’s signal, something has caused it, and the something might be the stretching or contracting of space via gravitational waves.
Observations of changes in pulsar timing via radio telescopes are one active area for gravitational wave detection.
Schilling’s later chapters look forward to other sorts of detectors, extensions of the design behind LIGO and the similar Virgo detector in Italy. These include space-based detectors like the European Space Agency’s long-planned LISA, and an underground detector, KAGRA, in Japan, as well as a LIGO-like detector in India. An even more ambitious ground-based detector called ET (Einstein Telescope) is also in planning stages, and an American project, Cosmic Explorer, with yet greater sensitivity to detect fainter and fainter gravitational waves is in idea-stage.
If you’re looking to catch up on the story of gravitational waves, and maybe go on to more depth on the science itself, this is a great place to start. Schilling is a good writer, he knows enough about the science to explain it for a relatively non-technical audience, and he knows how to tell the story.
July 12, 2022
Heel interessant boek over zwaartekrachtsgolven. Over hoe Einstein ze voorspelt heeft, hoe ze kunnen ontstaan, met intermezzo's over evolutie van sterren, pulsars en quasars, en vooral over de zoektocht naar de detectie van deze zwaartekrachtsgolven en de successen die geboekt werden. Het wordt allemaal heel begrijpelijk uitgelegd, hoewel het voor iemand die totaal geen wetenschappelijke achtergrond heeft het toch allemaal veel te gecompliceerd blijft. Govert Schilling heeft een vlotte manier van schrijven, goed verstaanbaar, af en toe een humoristische anekdote, maar vergaloppeert zich soms wel wat in de details en vele opsommingen (bv. alle projecten die lopen om telescopen te bouwen). Toch een aanrader voor iedereen die geïnteresseerd is in het fenomeen van zwaartekrachtsgolven, ook wel Einstein-golven genoemd.
October 23, 2019
Fascinating. Luckily, it is very clearly written, but the concepts involved are not exactly easy. I do feel I know a lot more than I did about current astronomical developments tracking gravitational waves and the implications for general relativity (or maybe quantum mechanics) theory.
November 19, 2019
Good book on spacetime waves aka gravitational waves. Some assumptions and confusions but I loved it as it talks about the general direction and potential of gravitational wave Astronomy and observatories being planned and built.
October 23, 2024
Leuk en pakkend geschreven met veel leuke metaforen. Ik denk in goede begrijpelijke taal. Veel was mij wel al bekend door mn studie maar vond de verhalende achtergrond ook erg leuk om te lezen en de metaforen die worden gebruikt om lastige natuurkunde uit te leggen.
April 5, 2021
Excellent and interesting book on gravitational waves and other astrophysics topics that I now almost, sort of understand.
October 13, 2025
Pretty good and wide overview of the field and why Gravitational Waves are so important. Helps put my current research into context.
Nothing particularly groundbreaking or new to me here.
Nothing particularly groundbreaking or new to me here.
March 11, 2021
I LOVE movies about time travel and worm holes. This was incredibly interesting to learn more about how those things form! And the science behind the theories.
December 5, 2024
"Ripples in Spacetime" chronicles the historic discovery of gravitational waves, offering a compelling narrative that blends rigorous science with engaging storytelling. Schilling takes readers on a journey through the century-long quest to detect these ripples in the fabric of spacetime, which were first predicted by Albert Einstein in 1916 as part of his theory of general relativity. The audiobook provides an in-depth look at the groundbreaking work of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and Virgo collaborations, which ultimately led to the first direct detection of gravitational waves in 2015.
Narration
Joel Richards's narration is one of the standout features of this audiobook. His clear and articulate delivery makes complex scientific concepts accessible to a broad audience. Richards's voice is steady and engaging, striking the right balance between informative and entertaining. He successfully brings to life the excitement and significance of the scientific breakthroughs discussed in the book.
Content and Themes
Schilling masterfully intertwines the technical aspects of gravitational wave detection with the human stories behind the science. He delves into the lives and work of the key scientists involved, including pioneers like Rainer Weiss, Kip Thorne, and Barry Barish, who were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2017 for their contributions to LIGO. The book also highlights the collaborative nature of scientific discovery, emphasizing the international efforts and teamwork required to achieve this monumental success.
Thematically, "Ripples in Spacetime" explores the relentless pursuit of knowledge and the curiosity that drives scientific exploration. It underscores the importance of perseverance, collaboration, and innovation in overcoming the numerous challenges faced by the LIGO and Virgo teams. Schilling's narrative also touches on the philosophical implications of detecting gravitational waves, which provide a new way of observing the universe and understanding its fundamental workings.
Writing Style
Govert Schilling's writing is both authoritative and accessible. He has a knack for explaining complex scientific concepts in a way that is engaging and easy to understand without oversimplifying the material. Schilling uses vivid analogies and clear explanations to demystify the science behind gravitational waves, making the audiobook suitable for both enthusiasts and those new to the topic.
Impact and Significance
The discovery of gravitational waves marked a major milestone in the field of astrophysics. It confirmed a key prediction of Einstein's theory of general relativity and opened up a new era of gravitational wave astronomy. By capturing the sound of these ripples in spacetime, scientists gained a novel tool for observing cosmic events such as black hole mergers and neutron star collisions. "Ripples in Spacetime" not only documents this groundbreaking achievement but also inspires a sense of wonder and excitement about the future of scientific discovery.
"Ripples in Spacetime" is a fascinating and informative audiobook that brings the discovery of gravitational waves to life. Schilling's engaging writing, combined with Richards's excellent narration, makes this a must-listen for anyone interested in the wonders of our universe and the remarkable achievements of modern science.
Narration
Joel Richards's narration is one of the standout features of this audiobook. His clear and articulate delivery makes complex scientific concepts accessible to a broad audience. Richards's voice is steady and engaging, striking the right balance between informative and entertaining. He successfully brings to life the excitement and significance of the scientific breakthroughs discussed in the book.
Content and Themes
Schilling masterfully intertwines the technical aspects of gravitational wave detection with the human stories behind the science. He delves into the lives and work of the key scientists involved, including pioneers like Rainer Weiss, Kip Thorne, and Barry Barish, who were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2017 for their contributions to LIGO. The book also highlights the collaborative nature of scientific discovery, emphasizing the international efforts and teamwork required to achieve this monumental success.
Thematically, "Ripples in Spacetime" explores the relentless pursuit of knowledge and the curiosity that drives scientific exploration. It underscores the importance of perseverance, collaboration, and innovation in overcoming the numerous challenges faced by the LIGO and Virgo teams. Schilling's narrative also touches on the philosophical implications of detecting gravitational waves, which provide a new way of observing the universe and understanding its fundamental workings.
Writing Style
Govert Schilling's writing is both authoritative and accessible. He has a knack for explaining complex scientific concepts in a way that is engaging and easy to understand without oversimplifying the material. Schilling uses vivid analogies and clear explanations to demystify the science behind gravitational waves, making the audiobook suitable for both enthusiasts and those new to the topic.
Impact and Significance
The discovery of gravitational waves marked a major milestone in the field of astrophysics. It confirmed a key prediction of Einstein's theory of general relativity and opened up a new era of gravitational wave astronomy. By capturing the sound of these ripples in spacetime, scientists gained a novel tool for observing cosmic events such as black hole mergers and neutron star collisions. "Ripples in Spacetime" not only documents this groundbreaking achievement but also inspires a sense of wonder and excitement about the future of scientific discovery.
"Ripples in Spacetime" is a fascinating and informative audiobook that brings the discovery of gravitational waves to life. Schilling's engaging writing, combined with Richards's excellent narration, makes this a must-listen for anyone interested in the wonders of our universe and the remarkable achievements of modern science.
December 20, 2018
I found this to be a fascinating book, which has completely expanded my understanding of astrophysics. Though to be fair, the my existing knowledge on the subject is comprised of a few pop science audiobooks from authors like Hawking and Neil De Grasse Tyson. Intellectual giants to be sure, but they may have glossed over some of the technical details in order to encompass a much broader scope.
Here I found the subject to be handled in such a way that it didn’t seem patronizing to the layman, and (hopefully) was sufficiently up to date on present scientific research to warrant a read from a more technical audience. The author goes into great detail on the science of Einstein's theory of relativity, as well as Big Bang cosmology and as the title suggests, gravitational wave detection using interferometry.
What I found most interesting, was how my lay-understanding of the Big Bang was hindering my understanding of relativity. One of the metaphors used by the author which I found enlightening was the raisin bread analogy. Rather than thinking of the Big Bang as an explosion outward in space much like a firework, he suggests to think of it like a raisin loaf which expands outward as it bakes. Each point in space, each raisin, is expanding exponentially away from the other. Somehow I’d had it in my head that there was a single point of origin for the universe, but now this seems like a limited view. It is possible that if space is infinite then it may have always been so.
With regards to gravitational waves, I must admit I had been completely ignorant of this implication of relativity. I understood space-time curvature to a limited extent, but the implication that cosmic events would send gravitational waves that could expand and contract space-time itself was a bit hard to comprehend at first. Thankfully the explanation of interferometry was not only lucid enough to convey the complexity and the scientific rigour required to detect this phenomena, but it also helped to clarify some of the more tangible implications of this theory in practical terms (gps, etc).
Lastly, because of my limited view of the Big Bang, I would never have believed that we could detect such waves from the birth of our universe if it had occurred so long ago. Thanks to Schilling’s analogy for space expansion and his emphasis that the Big Bang happened not in one place, but everywhere, it makes sense that ripples could still be arriving from all corners of the universe. The idea that we could use interferometry to detect these traces of the Big Bang is mind boggling to say the least.
In the past, I’ve found myself wondering what happened to the golden age of space travel. Why haven’t we accomplished more in the intervening years? Now I have a better understanding of the type of advancements that are being made to answer some questions much bigger than whether we can put men in space. The universe is vast, and modern science is doing its part to find out what is really out there.
I can’t recommend this book highly enough.
Here I found the subject to be handled in such a way that it didn’t seem patronizing to the layman, and (hopefully) was sufficiently up to date on present scientific research to warrant a read from a more technical audience. The author goes into great detail on the science of Einstein's theory of relativity, as well as Big Bang cosmology and as the title suggests, gravitational wave detection using interferometry.
What I found most interesting, was how my lay-understanding of the Big Bang was hindering my understanding of relativity. One of the metaphors used by the author which I found enlightening was the raisin bread analogy. Rather than thinking of the Big Bang as an explosion outward in space much like a firework, he suggests to think of it like a raisin loaf which expands outward as it bakes. Each point in space, each raisin, is expanding exponentially away from the other. Somehow I’d had it in my head that there was a single point of origin for the universe, but now this seems like a limited view. It is possible that if space is infinite then it may have always been so.
With regards to gravitational waves, I must admit I had been completely ignorant of this implication of relativity. I understood space-time curvature to a limited extent, but the implication that cosmic events would send gravitational waves that could expand and contract space-time itself was a bit hard to comprehend at first. Thankfully the explanation of interferometry was not only lucid enough to convey the complexity and the scientific rigour required to detect this phenomena, but it also helped to clarify some of the more tangible implications of this theory in practical terms (gps, etc).
Lastly, because of my limited view of the Big Bang, I would never have believed that we could detect such waves from the birth of our universe if it had occurred so long ago. Thanks to Schilling’s analogy for space expansion and his emphasis that the Big Bang happened not in one place, but everywhere, it makes sense that ripples could still be arriving from all corners of the universe. The idea that we could use interferometry to detect these traces of the Big Bang is mind boggling to say the least.
In the past, I’ve found myself wondering what happened to the golden age of space travel. Why haven’t we accomplished more in the intervening years? Now I have a better understanding of the type of advancements that are being made to answer some questions much bigger than whether we can put men in space. The universe is vast, and modern science is doing its part to find out what is really out there.
I can’t recommend this book highly enough.
December 5, 2017
I am surprised there have not been more books like this popularizing gravitational waves since the announcement of the first detection by LIGO. This book scratches that itch, but it is a bit of a hodge-podge itself. I enjoyed reading the description of LIGO although you can find more detailed but still accessible information on LIGO operation/design online. I also appreciated the systematic run-down of proposed and in-progress gravitational wave detectors which facilitated the very interesting section on what sorts of science current and future gravitational wave detectors could investigate.
I think the author went too far afield a couple times. The history of the debate over gravitational waves going back to Einstein was fair game although it was not the most interesting part of the book. However, the chapter spend explaining stellar evolution leading to the formation of neutron stars was unnecessary and only tangentially relevant (yes, colliding neutron stars are a source of gravitational waves, but how they formed is moot). It is easy to see the author's passion for astronomy getting the best of his self-editorship here. Similarly, the author's life as a journalist induced him to describe the details of the public communications aspects of the first LIGO detection at a level of detail that is a bit tedious if you aren't a professional science communicator.
As with all books about the cutting edge, this book is already a bit out of date. The recent detection of the "kilonova" neutron star merger with rapid follow-up by more or less every telescope worth pointing is a harbinger of major developments in astronomy. This book discusses the possible detection of these events and considers at some length the potential significance of combining gravitational waves and traditional electromagnetic observations for "multi-messenger" astronomy. Although this section was somewhat out of date, it held up very well; the hypothetical predictions largely matched the actual detection event. Although I read the press coverage of the actual event, I still learned something more about what sort of discoveries this sort of event can facilitate.
I think the author went too far afield a couple times. The history of the debate over gravitational waves going back to Einstein was fair game although it was not the most interesting part of the book. However, the chapter spend explaining stellar evolution leading to the formation of neutron stars was unnecessary and only tangentially relevant (yes, colliding neutron stars are a source of gravitational waves, but how they formed is moot). It is easy to see the author's passion for astronomy getting the best of his self-editorship here. Similarly, the author's life as a journalist induced him to describe the details of the public communications aspects of the first LIGO detection at a level of detail that is a bit tedious if you aren't a professional science communicator.
As with all books about the cutting edge, this book is already a bit out of date. The recent detection of the "kilonova" neutron star merger with rapid follow-up by more or less every telescope worth pointing is a harbinger of major developments in astronomy. This book discusses the possible detection of these events and considers at some length the potential significance of combining gravitational waves and traditional electromagnetic observations for "multi-messenger" astronomy. Although this section was somewhat out of date, it held up very well; the hypothetical predictions largely matched the actual detection event. Although I read the press coverage of the actual event, I still learned something more about what sort of discoveries this sort of event can facilitate.
January 1, 2020
14 września 2015 roku o godzinie 09:50:45 czasu uniwersalnego przez ułamek sekundy Ziemia i wszystko, co ją buduje, uległa deformacji (wydłużeniu i skróceniu) o jedną dziesięciotrylionową procenta. Każde ludzkie ciało czy atom dowolnej materii doznał zniekształcenia. Odpowiadało za ten efekt zderzenie dwóch masywnych czarnych dziur, które 1,3 miliarda lat świetlnych od nas uległy zlaniu się w jeden obiekt i w efekcie tego wygenerowały falę grawitacyjną, która z prędkością światła rozpoczęła podróż przez kosmos, by te kilka lat temu dać się wykryć na naszej planecie w detektorze LIGO. Od tej chwili nic już nie mogło być takie samo. To nie SF, to rzeczywistość, która wynika z prac Einsteina opublikowanych dokładnie 100 lat wcześniej.
O tym, jak doszło do tego odkrycia, skąd to wszystko wiemy, jak planujemy dalsze kroki w badaniu tego nowego okna na świat, opowiada książka „Zmarszczki czasoprzestrzeni. Einstein, fale grawitacyjne i przyszłość astronomii” pióra pisarza i popularyzatora nauki Goverta Schillinga. Opiniowana publikacja to świetny raport z frontu badan nauki. To ciekawa wizja stanu idei wykuwanych w naukowym imperatywie, który ludzi kieruje ku nieznanemu. Już po dwóch latach od tego odkrycia, szefowie projektu detektora LIGO (m.in. Kip Thorne, znany z książki "Interstellar i nauka") dostali Nobla.
Autor jest dziennikarzem i od lat pisze artykuły popularno-naukowe z astronomii. Bardzo dobrze operuje słowem, nie wdaje się w detaliczne dywagacje z użyciem niepotrzebnego technicznego słownictwa. Zakłada zerową wiedzę czytelnika o współczesnej astrofizyce. Po tej lekturze, każdy powinien poczuć się ekspertem w rewolucyjnym przewrocie, który dokonuje się na naszych oczach.
Książka w sposób wyczerpujący opowiada o każdym aspekcie związanym z falami grawitacyjnymi (FG). Jest wstęp teoretyczny, w którym zrelacjonowane zostały konsekwencje teorii Einsteina, w szczególności istnienie deformacji czasoprzestrzeni. Ogrom nowych możliwości poznawania świata, który te zmarszczki umożliwiają, najlepiej opisuje analogia przytoczona w książce (str. 376):
"Wszechświat jest dżunglą pełną dzikich zwierząt. Dzięki falom grawitacyjnym możemy je po raz pierwszy usłyszeć."
To żadna przesada - Ziemianie od kilku lat mają uszy, nie tylko oczy. To nowe okno na świat, które można porównać do rewolucji myślenia po odkryciu nowego kontynentu, zrozumieniu hieroglifów czy uzmysłowieniu sobie, że są struktury niedostępne w naszej skali rozmiarów (mikroświat czy skala poza-ziemska). Każdy obiekt obdarzony masą deformuje przestrzeń wokół siebie, a jeśli dozna przyspieszenia, to generuje dynamiczną deformację, która jak fala zaczyna podróżować przez kosmos wykrzywiając jego tkankę.
Schilling z wyczuciem skutkującym utrzymaniem czytelnika w ciągłej ciekawości, zrównoważył w książce codzienność pracy astronomicznej i wyjątkowość rzadkich odkryć. Jest teoria, są ustalenia konferencyjne (z czasem burzliwymi konfrontacjami stanowisk), jest projektowanie doświadczeń i analiza wyników. Bez wchodzenia w być może niezrozumiałe detale, autor opisał podstawowe procesy i zjawiska, które mogą być źródłem FG. Są zlewające się czarne dziury i inne konfiguracje układów podwójnych (z białymi karłami i gwiazdami neutronowymi) krążące wokół siebie z prędkościami stu tysięcy kilometrów na sekundę i zmierzające do nieuchronnej katastrofy kolizyjnej. Wszystko skupione jest na wydobyciu cech odpowiadających za generację tego promieniowania. Każde pojęcie jest dobrze opisane, nim stanie się przedmiotem narracji - pulsary, supernowe, białe karły, rozbłyski gamma. Język naukowy zawsze czemuś służy; buduje spójny obraz przekazu autora. Jedynie fragment o polaryzacji promieniowania mikrofalowego (str. 218-224) jest trochę trudniejszy.
Książka jest również swoistą kroniką przemian w astronomii obserwacyjnej ostatnich dekad. Specyfika obserwacji nieba na FG wynika ze sposobu ich propagacji, charakterystyki emanacji, szczególnie długości falowej, która może dochodzić do wielu kilometrów. Choć samo badanie fal dostępne jest od 4 lat, to już są szeroko zakrojone plany na poprawę czułości przyrządów. Schilling sporo miejsca w drugiej części książki poświęca na opisanie palącego problemu w tym segmencie astrofizyki, którym jest szybkość reakcji na zjawisko. Ponieważ kluczowy problem, to powiązanie zarejestrowanej fali z jej źródłem, to są plany automatyzacji pracy teleskopów ‘normalnych’, czyli czułych na fale elektromagnetyczne (optycznych, radiowych, rentgenowskich), by tuż po namierzeniu zmarszczki czasoprzestrzeni, postarać się wycelować w odpowiedni rejon nieba również te teleskopy w poszukiwaniu odpowiednika z emisją fotonową. Koincydencja, to kluczowy problem do rozwiązania na najbliższe lata.
Ostatnie strony to opis ambitnego projektu kosmicznego interferometru LISA, który w wielokrotnie większej (w porównaniu do naziemnych detektorów LIGO i VIRGO) skali pozwalałby na poprawienie czułości i przez to wykrywanie mniej spektakularnych zjawisk emitujących FG (np. układy podwójne białych karłów czy gwiazd neutronowych na długo przed kolizją). Schilling kreśli wspaniały świat przyszłej astronomii, gdzie dane będą szeroko dostępne. Stajemy u progu kolejnej rewolucji w obrazie fizycznym Wszechświata.
"Zmarszczki czasoprzestrzeni" jest w temacie unikatem na polskim rynku. Dzięki swej aktualności (sierpień 2017) pozwala uzyskać maksymalnie pełen obraz stanu badań. Każdy, kto ją przeczyta, zapewne sam będzie poszukiwał nowych doniesień, które nieuchronnie nastąpią. Czekają nas niespodzianki. W kosmosie jest jeszcze wiele fascynujących rzeczy do odkrycia.
Gorąco polecam lekturę.
==========
STAN OBECNY I KOMENTARZE UZUPEŁNIAJĄCE (wg. stanu na luty 2019)
Jak wszystko szybko się zmienia, niech świadczy fakt, że obecnie (10 lutego 2019) NASA udostępniła mechanizm powiadomień o detekcji FG na telefon dla każdego. Wystarczy uzyskać subskrypcję (dla zainteresowanych - na stronie WWW Goddard Space Flight Center, w zakładce GCN Home ).
Do połowy lutego 2019 zarejestrowano już 11 incydentów przejścia fal grawitacyjnych, które tuż po wykryciu były do tej pory dostępne wybrańcom, czyli fachowcom (a pierwszy stanowi�� wręcz tajemnicę przez kilka miesięcy). Teraz ma się to zmienić. Astronomom zależy na udziale miłośników obserwacji nieba, dysponujących dobrej jakości teleskopami, by włączać ich natychmiast w proces poszukiwania optycznych źródeł fal. W kwietniu 2019 rusza kolejna sesja obserwacji w LIGO, tym razem z udziałem każdego chętnego. Będzie o badaniach głośno.
BARDZO DOBRE - 8/10
O tym, jak doszło do tego odkrycia, skąd to wszystko wiemy, jak planujemy dalsze kroki w badaniu tego nowego okna na świat, opowiada książka „Zmarszczki czasoprzestrzeni. Einstein, fale grawitacyjne i przyszłość astronomii” pióra pisarza i popularyzatora nauki Goverta Schillinga. Opiniowana publikacja to świetny raport z frontu badan nauki. To ciekawa wizja stanu idei wykuwanych w naukowym imperatywie, który ludzi kieruje ku nieznanemu. Już po dwóch latach od tego odkrycia, szefowie projektu detektora LIGO (m.in. Kip Thorne, znany z książki "Interstellar i nauka") dostali Nobla.
Autor jest dziennikarzem i od lat pisze artykuły popularno-naukowe z astronomii. Bardzo dobrze operuje słowem, nie wdaje się w detaliczne dywagacje z użyciem niepotrzebnego technicznego słownictwa. Zakłada zerową wiedzę czytelnika o współczesnej astrofizyce. Po tej lekturze, każdy powinien poczuć się ekspertem w rewolucyjnym przewrocie, który dokonuje się na naszych oczach.
Książka w sposób wyczerpujący opowiada o każdym aspekcie związanym z falami grawitacyjnymi (FG). Jest wstęp teoretyczny, w którym zrelacjonowane zostały konsekwencje teorii Einsteina, w szczególności istnienie deformacji czasoprzestrzeni. Ogrom nowych możliwości poznawania świata, który te zmarszczki umożliwiają, najlepiej opisuje analogia przytoczona w książce (str. 376):
"Wszechświat jest dżunglą pełną dzikich zwierząt. Dzięki falom grawitacyjnym możemy je po raz pierwszy usłyszeć."
To żadna przesada - Ziemianie od kilku lat mają uszy, nie tylko oczy. To nowe okno na świat, które można porównać do rewolucji myślenia po odkryciu nowego kontynentu, zrozumieniu hieroglifów czy uzmysłowieniu sobie, że są struktury niedostępne w naszej skali rozmiarów (mikroświat czy skala poza-ziemska). Każdy obiekt obdarzony masą deformuje przestrzeń wokół siebie, a jeśli dozna przyspieszenia, to generuje dynamiczną deformację, która jak fala zaczyna podróżować przez kosmos wykrzywiając jego tkankę.
Schilling z wyczuciem skutkującym utrzymaniem czytelnika w ciągłej ciekawości, zrównoważył w książce codzienność pracy astronomicznej i wyjątkowość rzadkich odkryć. Jest teoria, są ustalenia konferencyjne (z czasem burzliwymi konfrontacjami stanowisk), jest projektowanie doświadczeń i analiza wyników. Bez wchodzenia w być może niezrozumiałe detale, autor opisał podstawowe procesy i zjawiska, które mogą być źródłem FG. Są zlewające się czarne dziury i inne konfiguracje układów podwójnych (z białymi karłami i gwiazdami neutronowymi) krążące wokół siebie z prędkościami stu tysięcy kilometrów na sekundę i zmierzające do nieuchronnej katastrofy kolizyjnej. Wszystko skupione jest na wydobyciu cech odpowiadających za generację tego promieniowania. Każde pojęcie jest dobrze opisane, nim stanie się przedmiotem narracji - pulsary, supernowe, białe karły, rozbłyski gamma. Język naukowy zawsze czemuś służy; buduje spójny obraz przekazu autora. Jedynie fragment o polaryzacji promieniowania mikrofalowego (str. 218-224) jest trochę trudniejszy.
Książka jest również swoistą kroniką przemian w astronomii obserwacyjnej ostatnich dekad. Specyfika obserwacji nieba na FG wynika ze sposobu ich propagacji, charakterystyki emanacji, szczególnie długości falowej, która może dochodzić do wielu kilometrów. Choć samo badanie fal dostępne jest od 4 lat, to już są szeroko zakrojone plany na poprawę czułości przyrządów. Schilling sporo miejsca w drugiej części książki poświęca na opisanie palącego problemu w tym segmencie astrofizyki, którym jest szybkość reakcji na zjawisko. Ponieważ kluczowy problem, to powiązanie zarejestrowanej fali z jej źródłem, to są plany automatyzacji pracy teleskopów ‘normalnych’, czyli czułych na fale elektromagnetyczne (optycznych, radiowych, rentgenowskich), by tuż po namierzeniu zmarszczki czasoprzestrzeni, postarać się wycelować w odpowiedni rejon nieba również te teleskopy w poszukiwaniu odpowiednika z emisją fotonową. Koincydencja, to kluczowy problem do rozwiązania na najbliższe lata.
Ostatnie strony to opis ambitnego projektu kosmicznego interferometru LISA, który w wielokrotnie większej (w porównaniu do naziemnych detektorów LIGO i VIRGO) skali pozwalałby na poprawienie czułości i przez to wykrywanie mniej spektakularnych zjawisk emitujących FG (np. układy podwójne białych karłów czy gwiazd neutronowych na długo przed kolizją). Schilling kreśli wspaniały świat przyszłej astronomii, gdzie dane będą szeroko dostępne. Stajemy u progu kolejnej rewolucji w obrazie fizycznym Wszechświata.
"Zmarszczki czasoprzestrzeni" jest w temacie unikatem na polskim rynku. Dzięki swej aktualności (sierpień 2017) pozwala uzyskać maksymalnie pełen obraz stanu badań. Każdy, kto ją przeczyta, zapewne sam będzie poszukiwał nowych doniesień, które nieuchronnie nastąpią. Czekają nas niespodzianki. W kosmosie jest jeszcze wiele fascynujących rzeczy do odkrycia.
Gorąco polecam lekturę.
==========
STAN OBECNY I KOMENTARZE UZUPEŁNIAJĄCE (wg. stanu na luty 2019)
Jak wszystko szybko się zmienia, niech świadczy fakt, że obecnie (10 lutego 2019) NASA udostępniła mechanizm powiadomień o detekcji FG na telefon dla każdego. Wystarczy uzyskać subskrypcję (dla zainteresowanych - na stronie WWW Goddard Space Flight Center, w zakładce GCN Home ).
Do połowy lutego 2019 zarejestrowano już 11 incydentów przejścia fal grawitacyjnych, które tuż po wykryciu były do tej pory dostępne wybrańcom, czyli fachowcom (a pierwszy stanowi�� wręcz tajemnicę przez kilka miesięcy). Teraz ma się to zmienić. Astronomom zależy na udziale miłośników obserwacji nieba, dysponujących dobrej jakości teleskopami, by włączać ich natychmiast w proces poszukiwania optycznych źródeł fal. W kwietniu 2019 rusza kolejna sesja obserwacji w LIGO, tym razem z udziałem każdego chętnego. Będzie o badaniach głośno.
BARDZO DOBRE - 8/10
December 4, 2017
A well written and easy to read discussion of the history of the science behind gravity waves and the search leading up to their discovery and the efforts going forward to study them further. Some of the background science was at a basic level for anyone who has read some on cosmology / relativity / quantum physics before but I don't feel that should cause anyone to skip this book there's plenty of new stuff as well. And for neophytes to the subject(s) he provides some of the clearest explanations I've read.
July 2, 2020
Gelezen in het Nederlands. Schilling is wat mij betreft een meester in het uitleggen van abstracte concepten die voor een leek als ik moeilijk voor te stellen zijn. Hoofdstuk 11 vond ik zelfs erg spannend, ook al weet je wat er gebeurd is :).
October 30, 2017
General overview of the evolution of gravitational wave astronomy and its future potential to understanding the dynamics of the observable universe. An exciting area of study
December 15, 2018
Extremely well done. I hope to tour the LIGO detector in the not too distant future.
June 3, 2019
Really interesting book. Great narration. I would’ve rated it 5 stars but my mind started to wander during some of the lengthy explanations of laboratories & the different testing apparatus.
February 24, 2021
Ripples in Spacetime: Einstein, Gravitational Waves, and the Future of Astronomy contains quite a lot of information I didn't know about modern astronomy, and I found a lot of the information pretty cool to be exposed to. Given the relative unfamiliarity I have with the material, I'll likely need to revisit this once or twice to get a better grasp of it. The up short of the text is about the discovery of gravitational waves, an incident that occurred during the collision of two massive black holes. While Einstein predicted gravitational waves, they were thought to be undetectable and an early advocate who argued that he did detect them was ridiculed. When they were finally discovered, the institution tried to enforce radio silence in order to ensure that they knew for sure that they were right about it long before they risked damaging their reputation. The discovery is juxtaposed in a narrative of the development of astrophysics. The first third of the text is obligatory introduction, while the last fifth was filled with all the latest developments that I've missed since I switched over to social science research. The idea of building a facility deep underground to detect gravitational waves and dark matter is about the way to do it, if one cannot get into outer space. LISA Pathfinder and related projects were well worth noting as well.
The only problem is that Schilling perhaps isn't the most charismatic writer. He's more than serviceable, but my mind was wandering way too much. Maybe my head wasn't in the right space to go through his book, or maybe the writing style was just a little off.
Ah well.
90/100
The only problem is that Schilling perhaps isn't the most charismatic writer. He's more than serviceable, but my mind was wandering way too much. Maybe my head wasn't in the right space to go through his book, or maybe the writing style was just a little off.
Ah well.
90/100
January 11, 2021
This book was a good, informative read that included some things I have read in other books but also contained some new information.
For some reason, I had it in my head that this book was only about LIGO. However, while LIGO is covered in this book, the narrative revolves around gravitational waves: the science behind them, the theories that predicted them, and the experiments to find them. Schilling does a good job explaining what a gravitational wave is, and helps one visualize them. He covers many of the missions/experiments that scientists have built to find them. Bar detectors, LIGO, and future missions are all included here. I was quite excited to read about the future of gravitational wave astronomy, and the many telescopes that will be coming online to study them.
Overall, a good read. I actually think I would have liked it more had I paid more attention to the fact that it covered a more broad span of information than I was expecting. I kept thinking 'When is it going to get to LIGO?" But I would recommend it to someone interested in the science and detection of gravitational waves. Similar books I've read are Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space and Einstein's Unfinished Symphony: Listening to the Sounds of Space-Time.
For some reason, I had it in my head that this book was only about LIGO. However, while LIGO is covered in this book, the narrative revolves around gravitational waves: the science behind them, the theories that predicted them, and the experiments to find them. Schilling does a good job explaining what a gravitational wave is, and helps one visualize them. He covers many of the missions/experiments that scientists have built to find them. Bar detectors, LIGO, and future missions are all included here. I was quite excited to read about the future of gravitational wave astronomy, and the many telescopes that will be coming online to study them.
Overall, a good read. I actually think I would have liked it more had I paid more attention to the fact that it covered a more broad span of information than I was expecting. I kept thinking 'When is it going to get to LIGO?" But I would recommend it to someone interested in the science and detection of gravitational waves. Similar books I've read are Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space and Einstein's Unfinished Symphony: Listening to the Sounds of Space-Time.
February 25, 2024
This is a popular account of gravitational waves written about two years after they were first discovered. It is aimed at an audience with little if any previous knowledge of science, at a very elementary level. Refreshingly for a book written at that level, there was not too much gosh-wow, although there was a lot of gossip about people's private lives and personalities.
The first third of the book is the usual inaccurate summary of the history of astronomy (I have never found a book by a non-specialist which gets Greek science right, and Galileo seldom fares much better, and doesn't here) and a superficial account of general relativity and Einstein's love interests. However, when he finally gets to the history of the search for gravitational waves the book is reasonably good, though I would still recommend Bartusiak's Einstein's Unfinished Symphony or Kennefic's Travelling at the Speed of Thought over this for anyone who is not a complete beginner.
Schilling does go farther chronologically than those, so his last few chapters are more interesting. As with any science book written more than two or three years ago, I was left wondering about what has been discovered since it was written
The first third of the book is the usual inaccurate summary of the history of astronomy (I have never found a book by a non-specialist which gets Greek science right, and Galileo seldom fares much better, and doesn't here) and a superficial account of general relativity and Einstein's love interests. However, when he finally gets to the history of the search for gravitational waves the book is reasonably good, though I would still recommend Bartusiak's Einstein's Unfinished Symphony or Kennefic's Travelling at the Speed of Thought over this for anyone who is not a complete beginner.
Schilling does go farther chronologically than those, so his last few chapters are more interesting. As with any science book written more than two or three years ago, I was left wondering about what has been discovered since it was written
September 9, 2024
I listened to this book as an audio book - and then had to listen to it again a second time. The author is described as a "popular science writer" -- he's enthusiastic, passionate and sometimes funny. He spends about as much time describing the scene or the politics as the actual science. I don't feel like I have a more profound understanding of the science after having listened to this book twice -- but a better sense of his perspective of the developments of important projects and the people involved.
The escape velocity from earth is 11 km/s and from the sun nearly 618 km/s -- and Jocelyn Bell, a graduate student, is the person who actually discovered the first radio pulsars. The author seems to think that she doesn't get enough credit because she was a graduate student at the time.
Sometimes, his book reads like something by Erik Larson - he posits conversations, imagines what people are thinking or describes places in a ton of detail. I can only imagine that he must've put together articles he'd written in the past or notes from drafts that were cut back for magazine publication to include so much specific detail. Sometimes it is distracting. He's definitely got a style and it's neither highly didactic nor academically rigorous. It's a bit meandering - spending much time musing on Einstein's crush on his cousin, and pulling in random pop culture references (like the one about Amy Winehouse's death).
The escape velocity from earth is 11 km/s and from the sun nearly 618 km/s -- and Jocelyn Bell, a graduate student, is the person who actually discovered the first radio pulsars. The author seems to think that she doesn't get enough credit because she was a graduate student at the time.
Sometimes, his book reads like something by Erik Larson - he posits conversations, imagines what people are thinking or describes places in a ton of detail. I can only imagine that he must've put together articles he'd written in the past or notes from drafts that were cut back for magazine publication to include so much specific detail. Sometimes it is distracting. He's definitely got a style and it's neither highly didactic nor academically rigorous. It's a bit meandering - spending much time musing on Einstein's crush on his cousin, and pulling in random pop culture references (like the one about Amy Winehouse's death).
April 23, 2021
If this is an "approachable guide to a complex subject", as one editorial review stated on Amazon, then I guess it was lost on me. At 11.5 hours of listening time, it was a bit much. The minutiae of detail in describing the telescopes, the detectors, the observatories, the people just made it much too overwhelming for the casual, curious layman. It was just way too long and contained too many unnecessary details, for me.
Yes, there were some parts that were interesting and yes I did learn a few things, like most of the gold on earth probably came from two neutron stars colliding in some far distant past.
I wish the read (or listen in my case), was more like a fascinating story that informed and scratched my curiosity itch, than a textbook preparing for my next astrophysics exam.
Yes, there were some parts that were interesting and yes I did learn a few things, like most of the gold on earth probably came from two neutron stars colliding in some far distant past.
I wish the read (or listen in my case), was more like a fascinating story that informed and scratched my curiosity itch, than a textbook preparing for my next astrophysics exam.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews