[Sci-all-l] Physics and Astronomy Colloquium 9/19

[Luc Peterson]

The Physics and Astronomy Department would like to invite you to our  
next summer student research presentation, Monday September 19, 2005,  
in the Sanders Physics Auditorium, Room 207.

Cookies and tea at 3:15 pm
Talk starts at 3:30 pm.

Presenting....

"Gravitational Waves and Their Impostors"
Kate Dooley

As predicted by Einstein in 1916, gravitational waves
originating from collisions of super massive bodies in
space constantly pass through the earth's surface. The
LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory)
project's goal is to find these gravitational waves by
measuring their effects on space-time. The consequent need
to measure displacements on the order 10^-16 cm requires
high sensitivity tools and as little noise as possible.
Current sensitivities are at a level such that the internal
friction of atoms within mirror coatings is a significant
noise source. Our project is part of a large ongoing
collaboration to develop mirror coatings that have lower
levels of thermal noise. I will report on progress and results
to date of this project and what it means for advanced LIGO.


We hope you will join us.


-The Physics and Astronomy Majors' Committee