Gravitational Waves Workshop Resources

• Available on request
• Up to 2 hours

The Gravity Exploration Institute is part of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) scientific collaboration which announced the first direct detection of gravitational waves in 2015, a century after they were first predicted by Einstein.

The activities in this workshop introduce students to the technology used in observatories such as LIGO and Virgo to detect gravitational waves and limit seismic interference in the detected signals. Students will also work with the data analysis techniques used to localise where gravitational wave events have taken place, their distance from earth and the sizes of the astronomical bodies involved in the events.

Some of the topics covered, include:

• properties of waves
• trigonometry
• interference
• detection of gravitational waves
• black holes.

The skills that will be introduced, include:

• drawing and interpreting graphs
• use of scientific equipment
• using scientific formulae
• numeracy skills
• literacy skills.

Access the resources to run this workshop.

We can also deliver these workshops directly through the University. To arrange this please email schools@astro.cf.ac.uk.

This activity has been developed in partnership with the National Space Academy and funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council.

Find out more

For more information about the activity, please visit our website.

About the organiser

This activity is organised by School of Physics and Astronomy. Contact us at schools@astro.cf.ac.uk for more details.