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Gravity's Shadow: The Search for Gravitational Waves

Gravity's Shadow

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"Gravity's Shadow" by Harry Collins is a astronomy book and space science reference focused on Cosmology. Best for students, researchers, and serious astronomy enthusiasts.

According to the theory of relativity, we are constantly bathed in gravitational radiation. When stars explode or collide, a portion of their mass becomes energy that disturbs the very fabric of the space-time continuum like ripples in a pond. But proving the existence of these waves has been difficult; the cosmic shudders are so weak that only the most sensitive instruments can be expected to observe them directly. Fifteen times during the last thirty years scientists have claimed to have detected gravitational waves, but so far none of those claims have survived the scrutiny of the scientific community. Gravity's Shadow chronicles the forty-year effort to detect gravitational waves, while exploring the meaning of scientific knowledge and the nature of expertise. Gravitational wave detection involves recording the collisions, explosions, and trembling of stars and black holes by evaluating the smallest changes ever measured. Because gravitational waves are so faint, their detection will come not in an exuberant moment of discovery but through a chain of inference; for forty years, scientists have debated whether there is anything to detect and whether it has yet been detected. Sociologist Harry Collins has been tracking the progress of this research since 1972, interviewing key scientists and delineating the social process of the science of gravitational waves. Engagingly written and authoritatively comprehensive, Gravity's Shadow explores the people, institutions, and government organizations involved in the detection of gravitational waves. This sociological history will prove essential not only to sociologists and historians of science but to scientists themselves.

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Best For: Readers interested in the scientific and historical aspects of gravitational wave research
Focus: The search for and detection of gravitational waves as predicted by relativity
Covers: Theoretical background of gravitational waves, challenges in detecting them, and the development of sensitive instruments
Why It Matters: Understanding gravitational waves provides insight into cosmic events and tests fundamental physics theories

"Gravity's Shadow" by Harry Collins is a astronomy book and space science reference focused on Cosmology. Best for students, researchers, and serious astronomy enthusiasts.

Topic: Cosmology

Author: Harry Collins

Who this is for:

  • Astronomy students
  • Researchers and advanced hobbyists
  • Readers exploring space science topics

Why this book matters: It matters because it helps readers build a stronger understanding of astronomy concepts, observations, and scientific ideas related to space.

According to the theory of relativity, we are constantly bathed in gravitational radiation. When stars explode or collide, a portion of their mass becomes energy that disturbs the very fabric of the space-time continuum like ripples in a pond. But proving the existence of these waves has been difficult; the cosmic shudders are so weak that only the most sensitive instruments can be expected to observe them directly. Fifteen times during the last thirty years scientists have claimed to have detected gravitational waves, but so far none of those claims have survived the scrutiny of the scientific community. Gravity's Shadow chronicles the forty-year effort to detect gravitational waves, while exploring the meaning of scientific knowledge and the nature of expertise. Gravitational wave detection involves recording the collisions, explosions, and trembling of stars and black holes by evaluating the smallest changes ever measured. Because gravitational waves are so faint, their detection will come not in an exuberant moment of discovery but through a chain of inference; for forty years, scientists have debated whether there is anything to detect and whether it has yet been detected. Sociologist Harry Collins has been tracking the progress of this research since 1972, interviewing key scientists and delineating the social process of the science of gravitational waves. Engagingly written and authoritatively comprehensive, Gravity's Shadow explores the people, institutions, and government organizations involved in the detection of gravitational waves. This sociological history will prove essential not only to sociologists and historians of science but to scientists themselves.

AuthorHarry Collins
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press
Published2004-10-01
ISBN-139780226113784
BindingPaperback
Pages894
LanguageEnglish
SubjectsScience
TopicCosmology

Format: Paperback

Length: 894 pages

Language: English

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