[QUOTE=Nick;425968]Press release: [URL]https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/news/ligo20160211[/URL][/QUOTE]

I've been awaiting this news for a while. Thanks for the link.

Although I do find it somewhat amusing that when you search Google News for "Gravity" sorted by date some viral rock band's new video is more prevalent than this major scientific breakthrough.

Welcome to the new dark ages....

[QUOTE=Nick;425968]Press release: [URL]https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/news/ligo20160211[/URL][/QUOTE]
[quote]
[URL]http://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.061102[/URL]
The source lies at a luminosity distance of 410 (+160/−180) Mpc corresponding to a redshift z=0.09 (+0.03/−0.04). In the source frame, the initial black hole masses are 36 (+5/−4) M[sub]⊙[/sub] and 29 (±4) M[sub]⊙[/sub] , and the final black hole mass is 62 (±4) M[sub]⊙[/sub] with 3.0 (±0.5) M[sub]⊙[/sub] c[sup]2[/sup] radiated in gravitational waves.[/quote]It's the energy release that I find impressive. Three solar masses out of 65, or about 5% efficiency.

[Added in edit:] That energy release occurred in a tenth of a second ...

[QUOTE=xilman;425987]It's the energy release that I find impressive. Three solar masses out of 65, or about 5% efficiency.

[Added in edit:] That energy release occurred in a [U]tenth of a second[/U] ...[/QUOTE]
:shock: That is hard to encompass. Three solar masses converted to energy. Wow.

[QUOTE=xilman;425987][Added in edit:] That energy release occurred in a tenth of a second ...[/QUOTE]

Let's be thankful that energy was released as gravity waves, rather than photons. :wink:

[QUOTE=chalsall;425998]Let's be thankful that energy was released as gravity waves, rather than photons. :wink:[/QUOTE]You should also be thankful that it occurred 400Mpc away. Even gravitational waves can loosen your fillings if you're close enough to that power density.

[QUOTE=xilman;426000]You should also be thankful that it occurred 400Mpc away. Even gravitational waves can loosen your fillings if you're close enough to that power density.[/QUOTE]

You know, now that you mention it, my left front filling is feeling a little loose. Interestingly, its a composite filling.

I just thought it predicted future rainfall, just like the pain in my right knee....

Very cool 'cowabunga!' news re. gravitational waves.

[QUOTE=chalsall;425998]Let's be thankful that energy was released as gravity waves, rather than photons. :wink:[/QUOTE]

Are there any plausible/favored mechanisms for g-waves to interconvert into other forms of energy, either spontaneously or via interaction with other forms of matter/energy? Are they dissipative? All sorts of interesting questions arise.

[QUOTE=ewmayer;426005]All sorts of interesting questions arise.[/QUOTE]

It has been postulated that large energy events near us (read: a few light years away) could cause us harm.

[QUOTE=chalsall;426007]It has been postulated that large energy events near us (read: a few light years away) could cause us harm.[/QUOTE]
Especially things like gamma ray bursts which happened to be pointed right at us.

[QUOTE=ewmayer;426005]Are there any plausible/favored mechanisms for g-waves to interconvert into other forms of energy, either spontaneously or via interaction with other forms of matter/energy? Are they dissipative? All sorts of interesting questions arise.[/QUOTE]

Actually, the answer to the 'spontaneously' question would seem obviously to be 'no', since g-waves travel at the speed of light and hence do not 'feel' the passage of time. (Same reasoning as for do-neutrinos-have-mass: If they do indeed change flavors spontaneously they must have mass because only sublight particles experience the passage of time, which is required for internal dynamics to occur.)

[QUOTE=ewmayer;426011]If they do indeed change flavors spontaneously they must have mass because only sublight particles experience the passage of time, which is required for internal dynamics to occur.)[/QUOTE]

Might it be possible the particles change their state during the experiment?

Might it depend on how things are measured?