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Session:
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TPT Favorites
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Paper Type:
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Invited
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Title:
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Classroom Simulation of Gravitational Waves from Orbiting Binaries
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Meeting:
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2019 Summer Meeting: Provo, UT |
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Location:
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N/A |
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Date:
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Time:
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8:30AM
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Author:
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Jonathan Perry, Towson University
4439102868, jperry12@students.towson.edu
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Co-Author(s):
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James Overduin, Rachael Huxford, Jim Selway
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Abstract:
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With appropriate caveats, demonstrations using stretched spandex fabric as a stand-in for curved space-time can convey some of the wonder of general relativity to non-experts. We have extended this idea to simulate gravitational waves from orbiting binaries using a pair of caster wheels attached to a hand drill and illuminated by a strobe light. This setup reproduces the pattern of outgoing spiral ripples that has entered the public imagination through LIGO animations. We use a paperclip plumb bob to measure the amplitude of these two-dimensional spandex waves as a function of orbital frequency and diameter, as well as distance from the center of mass. We compare our results with those that hold for gravitational waves propagating in three-dimensional space. Our simulation should not be confused with a demonstration of general relativity, but does exhibit some of the same features that gravitational waves share with other forms of radiation in general.
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Footnotes:
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None
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Presentation:
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TPT Presentation.pdf
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