Seminar talk-IIT Roorkee

About: The seminar, PHN-699, is a part of the coursework for fall 2022 semester. The course requires to present an independent research work done over the length of the semester. We are required to read research papers on topic or research area of our choice and present the read material in a 10 min and 15 min presentation format twice, once during mid-term evaluation and once at the end of the semeter.

For my presentation, I chose the broad topic of gravitational waves .

The end term presentation on the topic Gravitational Waves: A new way to look into the universe

Gravitational Waves

First predicted by the theory of general relativity, published in 1915. However, it wasn't until 2016 that scientists were able to detect these waves for the first time, using a sensitive detector called LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory). The detection of gravitational waves has opened up a new field of astronomy allowing scientists to study some of the most extreme events in the universe, such as the merging of black holes and the collisions of neutron stars. These events are too distant and too violent to be observed with telescopes that detect light or other forms of electromagnetic radiation. However, the gravitational waves they produce can be detected on Earth, providing a unique window into the universe's inner workings.

Gravitational waves are extremely difficult to detect because they are extremely weak and are stretched and compressed as they travel through spacetime. Scientists use massive detectors, such as LIGO, to detect these waves, which can measure extremely small changes in the distance between two points. By analyzing the patterns of these waves, scientists can learn more about the objects that produced them, as well as the nature of spacetime itself.