einstein s unfinished symphony

instein’sEEUnfinished Symphony

Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Einstein's Unfinished Symphony: Listening to the Sounds of Space-Timehttp://www.nap.edu/catalog/9821.html

http://www.nap.edu/catalog/9821.html

A L S O B Y M A R C I A B A R T U S I A K

Thursday’s Universe

Through a Universe Darkly

A Positron Named Priscillaas co-author




Listening to the Sounds of Space-Time

M A R C I A B A R T U S I A K


JOSEPH HENRY PRESSWASHINGTON, D.C.




Joseph Henry Press • 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. • Washington, D.C. 20418

The Joseph Henry Press, an imprint of the National Academy Press, was createdwith the goal of making books on science, technology, and health more widelyavailable to professionals and the public. Joseph Henry was one of the foundersof the National Academy of Sciences and a leader of early American science.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in thisvolume are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of theNational Academy of Sciences or its affiliated institutions.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bartusiak, Marcia, 1950-Einstein’s unfinished symphony : listening to the sounds of space-time

/ by Marcia Bartusiak.p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN 0-309-06987-41. Space and time. 2. General relativity (Physics) I. Title.QC173.59.S65 B39 2000530.11—dc21

00-010544

Cover design by Francesca Moghari.

Illustrations by Rob Wood and Matthew Frey, Wood Ronsaville Harlin, Inc.,Annapolis, Maryland.

Copyright 2000 by Marcia Bartusiak. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America.




For Steve




Prelude 1

Space in G Flat 11

The Maestro Enters 23

Starlight Waltz 47

Pas De Deux 67

Bars and Measures 87

Dissonant Chords 115

A Little Light Music 145

Variations on a Theme 171

The Music of the Spheres 187

Finale 207

Coda 225

Bibliography 227

Index 235

Contents

vii




was formally introduced to the sci-ence of gravitational waves nearlytwo decades ago. I was on assign-

ment for Science 85, a magazine (now regrettably gone) that thrived oncovering the cutting edge of science. Stanford University in Californiathen housed the most advanced instrument yet constructed in thequest to detect gravitational waves—a hulking, supercooled bar ofmetal that resided in a cavernous room on the campus. This five-tonaluminum bar was the principal subject of my article on the continu-ing search for the elusive ripples in space-time. The best such a detec-tor could hope to see, though, was a supernova explosion in our galaxy,which occurs only a couple of times each century.

While on the west coast, almost as an afterthought, I decided todrop by Caltech to learn about another detection scheme that prom-ised to see more sources in the long run but was described as being inits “infancy” compared to the bars: laser interferometry. Caltechhoused a prototype on campus and during my visit I was shown a

ix

Acknowledgments

I




x Einstein’s Unfinished Symphony

crude drawing of the full-blown observatory they hoped to constructone day in collaboration with MIT. The picture displayed two gianttubes that sprawled for miles over an imaginary desert plain. At thetime, with federal budget cuts so prominent, I doubted I would eversee such an instrument built in my lifetime.

To my surprise and delight I was wrong. I use the word delight forgood reason. At the time I began to write on astronomy and astro-physics, the various means of observing the universe’s electromagneticradiations were fairly well established. Astronomers had gotten a goodstart at examining the cosmos over the entire spectrum, from radiowaves to gamma rays. I figured that the era had passed when a sciencewriter could chronicle the advent of an entirely new astronomy, wherethe heavens were a blank slate ready to be filled in. But gravity waveastronomy, I came to realize, now offered me that opportunity.

For showing me the way, I must initially thank Peter Saulson, whoI first met in 1988 as I was writing a follow-up story on the field’sprogress. Over the intervening years, as Peter moved from MIT toSyracuse University, he kept me abreast of the advancing technologyand planted the notion to expand my magazine coverage into a book.His encouragement initiated the project; his sage advice and guidancefollowed me through to its completion. He and his wife Sarah havebecome cherished friends in the process.

When not involved with either interviewing or traveling—fromPasadena to Pisa—I could usually be found at the Science Library ofthe Massachusetts Institute of Technology by the banks of the CharlesRiver. I would like to thank the many archivists and librarians there,who so patiently answered my questions and pointed me in the rightdirection toward the stacks.

By the end of my research, I had interviewed over 50 scientists andengineers, either in person, over the phone, or via e-mail communica-tions. My appreciation is extended to those who kindly agreed to re-view selected sections of my book, catching my errors and providingadditional insights. They are John Armstrong, Peter Bender, GariLynnBillingsley, Philip Chapman, Karsten Danzmann, Sam Finn, RonDrever, William Folkner, Robert Forward, Adalberto Giazotto, WilliamHamilton, Russell Hulse, Richard Isaacson, Albert Lazzarini, Fred Raab,




Acknowledgments xi

Roland Schilling, Irwin Shapiro, Joseph Taylor, Kip Thorne, TonyTyson, Stan Whitcomb, Clifford Will, and Michael Zucker. (Any errorsthat do remain are entirely of my own doing.) I am particularly grate-ful to Rainer Weiss, who in the midst of deadline pressures duringLIGO’s commissioning always welcomed me and found the time toanswer my questions. Robert Naeye, a favorite editor of mine at As-tronomy magazine, also provided a keen editorial eye.

Thanks must also be given to those physicists and researchers whoprovided an essential historic perspective. They include John Wheeler,who took me on a delightful walk around Princeton University, whereI got to see many of Einstein’s old haunts, and Joseph Weber, who was agracious host during my visit to the University of Maryland. For infor-mative tours of the various detector sites, I thank Jennifer Logan at theCaltech prototype, Carlo Bradaschia at VIRGO, Cecil Franklin at theLouisiana LIGO, and Otto Matherny at the Hanford LIGO. At Caltech,Donna Tomlinson, administrator extraordinaire, offered invaluable as-sistance in arranging my visit to the LIGO headquarters. I am equallygrateful to the investigators who provided either key resource materialor insightful discussions of their work. They are Barry Barish, BiplabBhawal, Rolf Bork, Jordan Camp, Douglas Cook, Robert Eisenstein,Jay Heefner, Jim Hough, Vicky Kalogera, Ken Libbrecht, Phil Lindquist,Walid Majid, Dale Ouimette, Janeen Hazel Romie, R. John Sandeman,Gary Sanders, David Shoemaker, R. Tucker Stebbins, Serap Tilav, Wimvan Amersfoort, Robbie Vogt, and Hiro Yamamoto.

Throughout the course of this project, friends and colleagues keptmy spirits high by staying in touch, even as I would disappear for weekson end. Their interest in my progress served as an incentive to keepmoving forward. For this I thank Elizabeth and Goetz Eaton, Eliza-beth Maggio and Ike Ghozeil, Tara and Paul McCabe, Suzanne Szescilaand Jed Roberts, Fred Weber and Smita Srinivas, Linda and SteveWohler, L. Cole Smith, Ellen Ruppel Shell, and Dale Worley. Mean-while, my goddaughter Skye McCole Bartusiak brought me smiles fromafar with her varied entertainments. I am also grateful for the unwa-vering support of my mother, my brother Chet and his family, my sis-ter Jane Bailey and her family, as well as Clifford, Eunice, and Bob Lowe,my husband’s family. A special thank you is extended to Duffy, my




xii Einstein’s Unfinished Symphony

favorite neighborhood dog who would energetically bark at my doorto make sure I remembered it was important to get up from the com-puter, go outside, and walk around to smell the roses from time totime.

The reader would not be viewing this work at all, though, if it werenot for the singular persistence of Stephen Mautner, executive editorof the Joseph Henry Press, whose powers of persuasion are formidable.He never faltered in his faith in this project and patiently waited nearlytwo years for me to sign on. (Thank you, Margaret Geller, for intro-ducing us.) I have now discovered what a joy it is to work with a pub-lishing house where effective communication of science is a priorityand not just a sideline. Steve makes it all possible. Others at JosephHenry that I must thank for their enthusiastic support behind thescenes are Barbara Kline Pope and Ann Merchant. Christine Hauserwas an immense help in tracking down elusive photos, while copy edi-tor Barbara Bodling skillfully honed my manuscript to a fine sheen.

Lastly, I must acknowledge my husband, Steve Lowe, whose love,encouragement, and support throughout these last two years allowedmy ideas to reach fruition. More than that, I came to depend on hissuperb editorial judgment on matters scientific. Thank you, Steve, forbeing there.




einstein s unfinished symphony

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