The LIGO Gravitational Wave Detection

folk, educational · 2:32

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Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Einstein saw the space-time bend
Predicted waves that stretch and mend
But ripples smaller than a proton's size
How could we catch them with our eyes?
A hundred years we waited long
To prove the master's theory strong

[Chorus]
Match the filter, find the pattern
Signal processing, noise will flatten
Bayesian estimation tells us more
About the sources we explore
LIGO listens to the sky
For gravitational waves passing by

[Verse 2]
Two detectors, lasers bright
Measuring arms with speed of light
When waves pass through, the length will change
By distances incredibly strange
But earthquakes shake and traffic roars
Ocean waves pound distant shores

[Chorus]
Match the filter, find the pattern
Signal processing, noise will flatten
Bayesian estimation tells us more
About the sources we explore
LIGO listens to the sky
For gravitational waves passing by

[Bridge]
Templates hold the expected song
Of black holes dancing, spinning strong
Compare the signal to the template bank
If patterns match, we've found theank
Remove the noise with clever code
Reveal the cosmic episode

[Verse 3]
September fourteenth, twenty-fifteen
A chirp unlike we'd ever seen
Point-two seconds, frequency climbed
Two black holes perfectly timed
Billion-light-years far away
Their final dance reached Earth that day

[Chorus]
Match the filter, find the pattern
Signal processing, noise will flatten
Bayesian estimation tells us more
About the sources we explore
LIGO listens to the sky
For gravitational waves passing by

[Outro]
Einstein's waves are real at last
Algorithms solved the mysteries of the past
A new window to the universe wide
With mathematics as our guide

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