Black hole collision modelled by supercomputer

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NASA has used supercomputers to model the effect of two black holes colliding.

 

In each simulation (the only variable was the starting positions) the black holes produced identical waveforms during the collisions. If other variables such as mass and spin could be varied then theoretically "templates" for all different waveforms could be calculated. These developments will help LIGO in its effort to detect these ripples (or waves) in spacetime as predicted by Einstein in his Theory of General Relativity.

 

The 3D simulations used more than 2,000 of the machine's 10,000 64-bit processors, running over a period of 80 hours.

 

BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4923396.stm

New Scientist: http://www.newscientistspace.com/article/dn9012.html