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The experiment consists of detectors that are blind to the light from the Universe, arranged at right angles to each other. The Union Cabinet recently approved a project to build such an advanced facility in Maharashtra. By doing so, “Indian science and technology is expected to leap-frog in quantum-sensing and metrology. Which of the following experiments has been described in the passage given above?
  • a)
    Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO)
  • b)
    The Large Hadron Collider (LHC)
  • c)
    Evolved Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (eLISA)
  • d)
    LISA pathfinder
Correct answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?
Verified Answer
The experiment consists of detectors that are blind to the light from ...
  • The Union Cabinet recently approved a project to build an advanced gravitational-wave detector in Maharashtra at an estimated cost of Rs 2,600 crore. The facility’s construction is expected to be completed by 2030. By building it, “Indian S&T is expected to leap-frog in a number of cutting-edge frontiers of great national relevance, in particular quantum-sensing and metrology. It will come up in the Hingoli district, where land has been acquired to the tune of 174 acres. LIGO stands for "Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory". It is the world's largest gravitational wave observatory and a marvel of precision engineering. Comprising two enormous laser interferometers located 3000 kilometers apart, LIGO exploits the physical properties of light and of space itself to detect and understand the origins of gravitational waves (GW). Currently, there are three operational gravitational wave observatories around the world - two in the United States (Hanford and Livingston), one in Italy (Virgo), and one in Japan (Kagra). For accurate detection, four comparable detectors need to be operated simultaneously across the globe.
  • The LIGO detectors consist of two 4-km-long vacuum chambers, arranged at right angles to each other, with mirrors at the end. The experiment works by releasing light rays simultaneously in both chambers.
  • Normally, the light should return at the same time in both chambers. However, if a gravitational wave passes through, one chamber gets elongated while the other gets squished, resulting in a phase difference in the returning light rays. Detecting this phase difference confirms the presence of a gravitational wave.
  • Three things fundamentally distinguish LIGO from a stereotypical astronomical observatory:
    • LIGO is blind to the light from the Universe. Unlike optical or radio telescopes, LIGO does not see electromagnetic radiation (e.g., visible light, radio waves, microwaves). But it doesn't have to because gravitational waves are not part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
    • It doesn't need to focus on starlight or point at a particular part of the sky. o It is difficult for a single detector to make a discovery on its own.
    • The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is three things. First, it is large – so large that it’s the world’s largest science experiment. Second, it’s a collider. It accelerates two beams of particles in opposite directions and smashes them head-on. Third, these particles are hadrons. The LHC, built by the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), is on the energy frontier of physics research, conducting experiments with highly energized particles.
    • Laser Interferometer Space Antenna(LISA) is a space-based gravitational wave observatory building on the success of LISA Pathfinder and LIGO. Led by ESA, the LISA mission is a collaboration of ESA, NASA, and an international consortium of scientists. Gravitational waves were first theorized by Albert Einstein. They are created during events such as supermassive black hole mergers, or collisions between two black holes that are billion times bigger than our Sun. These collisions are so powerful that they create distortions in spacetime, known as gravitational waves. Studying gravitational waves gives enormous potential for discovering the parts of the universe that are invisible by other means, such as black holes, the Big Bang, and other, as yet unknown, objects. Gravitational waves were first directly detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in 2015.
  • Three types of detectors have been designed to look for gravitational radiation, which is very weak. The changes of curvature of space-time would correspond to dilation in one direction and a contraction at right angles to that direction. One scheme, first tried out about 1960, employed a massive cylinder that might be set in mechanical oscillation by a gravitational signal. The authors of this apparatus argued that signals had been detected, but their claim was not substantiated.
  • In a second scheme, an optical interferometer is set up with freely suspended reflectors at the ends of long paths that are at right angles to each other. Shifts of interference fringes corresponding to an increase in the length of one arm and a decrease in the other would indicate the passage of gravitational waves. One such interferometer is the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), which consists of two interferometers with arm lengths of 4 km (2 miles), one in Hanford, Washington, and the other in Livingston, Louisiana.
  • A third scheme, the Evolved Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (eLISA), is planned that uses three separate, but not independent, interferometers installed in three spacecraft located at the corners of a triangle with sides of some 5 million km (3 million miles). A mission to test the technology for eLISA, LISA Pathfinder, was launched in 2015.
  • LISA Pathfinder, formerly Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology-2, was an ESA spacecraft that was launched on 3 December 2015 onboard Vega flight VV06. The mission tested technologies needed for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, an ESA gravitational wave observatory planned to be launched in 2037. Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.
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The experiment consists of detectors that are blind to the light from ...
Explanation:

Experiment described:
The experiment described in the passage is the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO).

Details of the experiment:
- The experiment involves detectors that are blind to the light from the Universe and are arranged at right angles to each other.
- The Union Cabinet recently approved a project to build an advanced facility for LIGO in Maharashtra.
- This project is expected to propel Indian science and technology forward in the fields of quantum-sensing and metrology.
Therefore, the correct answer is option 'A'.
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The experiment consists of detectors that are blind to the light from the Universe, arranged at right angles to each other. The Union Cabinet recently approved a project to build such an advanced facility in Maharashtra. By doing so, “Indian science and technology is expected to leap-frog in quantum-sensing and metrology. Which of the following experiments has been described in the passage given above?a)Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO)b)The Large Hadron Collider (LHC)c)Evolved Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (eLISA)d)LISA pathfinderCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?
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