It opens a complete different window on the Universe. The analogy that is often given is imagine the cosmic show is like a TV show. Until now we had video but not audio. Finally we turned the audio on. Gravitational waves are a different but complementary way to observe the universe. We already learning things we could not learn before just using EM radiation. For example that there are black holes systems with such large masses. This has consequences in terms of galaxy evolution and how stars were formed. And this is just the beginning. The ultimate price is when we will see the gravitational waves from Big Bang. While the Microwave Cosmic Background tell us abut the universe at a very early stage (500 K years) we cannot receive any earlier information about the universe using EM radiation. The equivalent gravitational wave background when detected will tells information from a fraction of a second after the Big Bang. Only gravitational radiation can give us a picture of the universe that early.
Also information from events like the one just observed eventually would give us clues on how gravity and quantum mechanics work together. The consequences of this discovery are enormous. On Thu, Feb 11, 2016 at 8:22 PM, Russ George <russ.geo...@gmail.com> wrote: > It seems the announcement of showing gravity waves are real is only of > value to obscure academic discussions. Unless someone here might illuminate > us about some practical derivatives that might be revealed due to the > findings. >
