Question

Three US Scientists have been awarded the Nobel prize in Physics for their work on gravitational waves. Which of the following is not one of them?
1. Rainer Weiss
2. Kip Thorne
3. Barry Barish
4. Jay Hannigam

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 4 : Jay Hannigam

The correct answer is Jay Hannigam.

• The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physics 2017 with one half to Rainer Weiss and the other half jointly to Barry C. Barish and Kip S. Thorne.
• On 14 September 2015, the universe’s gravitational waves were observed for the very first time.
• The waves, which were predicted by Albert Einstein a hundred years ago, came from a collision between two black holes.
  • It took 1.3 billion years for the waves to arrive at the LIGO detector in the USA.

• LIGO, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, is a collaborative project with over one thousand researchers from more than twenty countries.
  • They have realized a vision that is almost fifty years old.
• The 2017 Nobel Laureates have, with their enthusiasm and determination, each been invaluable to the success of LIGO.
• Pioneers Rainer Weiss and Kip S. Thorne, together with Barry C. Barish, the scientist, and leader who brought the project to completion, ensured that four decades of effort led to gravitational waves finally being observed.