Gravity wave research. Cross-section of the gravi- tational wave detector Auriga at Legnaro, Italy. Auriga is one of the first ultracryogenic antennae

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Gravity wave research. Cross-section of the gravi- tational wave detector Auriga at Legnaro, Italy. Auriga is one of the first ultracryogenic antennae in the world. The gravitational waves are detected by a 3m long bar (not seen here) suspended within concentric shells in the cavity at centre of the yellow cage. The shells shield the bar from external vibrations; the bar is also cooled to a temperature of Kelvin to minimise its atomic thermal vibrations. Auriga will be detecting gravitational waves from supernova explosions from galaxies of the Local Group which are thought to cause vibrations in the bar with an amplitude of a billionth of a billionth of a metre.

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Size: 5081px × 3543px
Photo credit: © TOMMASO GUICCIARDINI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: auriga, cosmology, detector, gravitational, gravity, italy, physics, relativity, research, supernova, wave