A Weber bar is a device used in the detection of gravitational waves first devised and constructed by physicist Joseph Weber at the University of Maryland. The device consisted of multiple giant aluminium cylinders, 2 meters in length and 1 meter in diameter, antennae for detecting theoretical gravitational waves^[1]. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... ... Joseph Weber (May 17, 1919 – September 30, 2000) was an American physicist. ... The University of Maryland, College Park (also known as UM, UMD, or UMCP) is a public university located in the city of College Park, in Prince Georges County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C., in the United States. ... General Name, Symbol, Number aluminium, Al, 13 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 13, 3, p Appearance silvery Atomic mass 26. ... The metre, or meter (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ... DIAMETER is an AAA protocol (Authentication, Authorization and Accounting) succeeding its predecessor RADIUS. // The name is a pun on the RADIUS protocol, which is the predecessor (a diameter is twice the radius). ... In biology, antenna (plural: antennae) refers to the sensing organs of several arthropods. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Around 1968, Weber collected what he concluded to be "good evidence"^[1] of the theorized phenomenon. However, his experiments were duplicated many times all with a null result.

Such experiments conducted by Joseph Weber were very controversial, and his positive results with the apparatus have since been largely discredited. Criticism of the study focuses on Weber's data analysis and his incomplete definitions of what strength vibration would signify a passing gravitational wave.

Mechanism

These massive aluminium cylinders vibrated at a resonant frequency of 1660 hertz and were designed to be set in motion by gravitational waves predicted by Weber. Because these waves were supposed to be so weak, the cylinders had to be massive and the piezoelectric sensors had to be very sensitive, capable of detecting a chance in the cylinders' lengths by about 10^-16 meters^[1]. This article is about resonance in physics. ... The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the SI unit of frequency. ... Piezoelectricity is the ability of certain crystals to produce a voltage when subjected to mechanical stress. ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Lindley, David. A Fleeting Detection of Gravitational Waves. Retrieved May 10, 2006.

See also

• LIGO
• Gravitational radiation

The LIGO Hanford Control Room LIGO stands for Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

External link

• Original paper by Joseph Weber annoucing his results