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Proving Einstein Right

Image of black hole jets.Scientists have proven Einstein's theory of relativity by capturing the sound of gravitational waves from black holes collding.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Scientists have confirmed Einstein's theory on black holes by capturing gravitational waves from black holes collding. Seen here: black hole jets.

Scientists with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) recently announced that they had detected elusive gravitational waves.

The phenomenon was predicted by Albert Einstein in his infamous theory of relativity, but was never proven until now. The breakthrough findings prove that space and time are indeed interconnected, and opens up a new way of observing the universe and its origins.

Host Frank Stasio talks with Laura Mersini-Houghton, physics professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, and Greg Cook, physics professor at Wake Forest University, about how gravitational waves work, and what they mean for future research in astrophysics.

Will Michaels is WUNC's Weekend Host and Reporter.
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.