Speaker: Dr Marco Bruni
Location: South Downs Astronomical Society
Starting from the first detection of gravitational waves emitted by the merging of two black holes, announced n February 2016, in this talk I will introduce the fundamental ideas that are at the base of Einstein theory of General Relativity, the modern gravity theory that replaces Newtonian gravitation. I will illustrate how space and time, once separated, are unified into a new concept, that of spacetime. I will briefly explain how black holes are formed when a giant star dies, and how two black holes orbiting each other can merge into one. Illustrating the effects of gravitational waves on matter, I will illustrate how they can be detected, on Earth and in space.