[ExI] ligo does it again

[spike]

From: extropy-chat [mailto:extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of John Clark
Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2017 7:16 AM
To: ExI chat list <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
Subject: Re: [ExI] ligo does it again

 

 

On Wed, Sep 27, 2017 at 9:19 PM, spike <spike66 at att.net <mailto:spike66 at att.net> > wrote:
 

​> ​

ASTONISHING!  Hanford LIGO just announced the detection of the 4th black hole merger:

https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/WA/news

 

How can there be so many of these?  John?

 

​>…And how can they be so big? 

 

I have been going nuts trying to figure that one out too.  There couldn’t have been stars that size to start with I wouldn’t think, or if so, my notion of star formation is completely wrong.  I have been trying to get up to speed on Eddington Limit to see where my notion went wrong.

 

>…Nobody predicted that, just a few years ago people were saying if LIGO found anything (and some said they wouldn't)…

 

I do confess I was one of the naysayers.  Now I am going back and rethinking my paltry understanding of General Relativity and star formation.  When I read the proposal for LIGO a bunch of years ago, I would have estimated the chances of even a single detection in my lifetime about a percent.  Now we have four events in two years and even that is an understatement: the instruments are offline much of that time.

 

And that 20-40 solar masses range is just mind-boggling.

 

>… “With the next observing run planned for Fall 2018 we can expect such detections weekly or even more often.” That would be really cool!  John K Clark 

 

Ja, but even then… what if they do?  How the hell can there be so many of these mergers this far down the road?  I don’t trust anything I thought I knew on the topic.  I am going to apply to my college for a refund.

 

spike

 

 

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