Geo 600 is a gravitational wave detector located in Hannover, Germany. This instrument, and its sister interferometric detectors, are by far the most sensitive scientific instruments ever designed. They are designed to detect relative changes in distance of the order of 10²¹, about the size of a single atom compared to the distance from the Sun to the Earth. In physics, gravitational radiation is energy that is transmitted through waves in the gravitational field of space-time, according to Albert Einsteins theory of general relativity: The Einstein field equations imply that any accelerated mass radiates energy this way, in the same way as the Maxwell equations that any... Map of Germany showing Hanover Hanover (in German: Hannover [haˈnoːfɐ]), on the river Leine, is the capital of the state of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), Germany. ...

Joint science run with LIGO

In November 2005, it was announced that the LIGO and Geo instruments have begun an extended joint science run. The three instruments (LIGO's instruments are located in Livingston, Louisiana and Hanford Site, Washington in the U.S.) will collect data for more than a year, with breaks for tuning and updates. This will be the fifth science run of Geo 600. No results were detected on previous runs, but the sensitivity of the instruments (and the quality of the data analysis) is continually improving, and once the data from the current run are analyzed, it is hoped that they will reveal perhaps the arrival at Earth of perhaps two unambiguous bursts of gravitational waves. This would constitute the first direct detection of gravitational radiation, and, in the eyes of many experts, would be one of the most significant milestones in the history of physics. The LIGO Hanford Control Room LIGO stands for Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory. ... Livingston is a town located in Livingston Parish, Louisiana. ... Hanford Site during the Manhattan Project. ... For other uses, see United States (disambiguation) and US (disambiguation). ... Direct is associated with a number of meanings: A direct route or service is the one that goes between the start and end points without diverting to a third location en route. ...

See also

• See Gravitational radiation to learn more about gravitational radiation.
• LIGO, for the two American interferometric detectors.
• VIRGO, for a competing European interferometric detector.
• TAMA, for a Japanese interferometric detector.
• Einstein@Home, for a program you can download which will help the LIGO/GEO teams analyze their data!

To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The LIGO Hanford Control Room LIGO stands for Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory. ... See VIRGO (physics) for a French-Italian project in physics. ... A screenshot of the Einstein@home graphics. ...

External links

• Geo 600 home page], the official website of the Geo 600 project.

• Relativity Group, a page describing research at Cardiff University in Wales, including collaboration in the Geo 600 project, includes an excellent list of tutorials on gravitational wave radiation.
• Amos, Jonathan. Science to ride gravitational waves. November 8, 2005. BBC News.