China to Step Up Gravitational Waves Research, Builds World's Highest Telecopes

[TaiShang]

China will step up its efforts to study the gravitational waves phenomenon five months after the first ripples in space-time were observed, researchers told national media Sunday.

BEIJING (Sputnik) – The gravitational waves, predicted by Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity over 100 years ago, were picked up by two Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors on September 14, researchers announced Thursday.


"We will deepen technical cooperation and professional resources exchange with prominent research institutes such as MIT, in addition to attracting foreign specialists," Sun Yat-sen University Astronomy and Space Science Institute Dean Li Miao told The Global Times publication.

Li said the project dubbed "Tianqin" would be carried out over the next 20 years in four stages and would include three high-orbit satellite launches to detect gravitational waves.

"China needs to make more efforts in theoretical physics to become a leading nation in science and technology. Research on gravitational waves has scientific significance, [contributing to] the detection of mineral or water resource distribution and propelling the development of technologies such as laser physics and space technology," Li stressed.

Awaiting government approval, the Tianqin project will include building a more than 100,000-square-foot observatory and lab on Fenghuang Mountain in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province in southeastern China.

The gravitational waves observed in Louisiana and Washington states were produced by two black holes colliding around 1.3 billion light years away with peak output 50 times the energy of the entire universe.

According to Einstein’s theory of relativity, two black holes orbiting each other lose energy as they send out gravitational waves. As a result, the two bodies approach each other over billions of years, ultimately speeding up and colliding into a single "black star" and emitting gravitational waves.



Read more: http://sputniknews.com/science/20160214/1034724681/china-gravitational-waves-research.html#ixzz406i2skpD

 

[JSCh]

China to study gravitational waves
By Kou Jie Source:Global Times Published: 2016-2-14 0:48:02

Three satellites to be launched over the next 15 - 20 years
A new gravitational waves research project is awaiting governmental approval as China steps up its efforts to study the phenomenon, after a team of US scientists announced their historic discovery of gravitational waves on Thursday.

Tianqin, China's domestic gravitational waves project, was initiated by Guangzhou-based Sun Yat-sen University in July 2015. It has already made progress on some key technologies, Li Miao, dean of the Institute of Astronomy and Space Science at Sun Yat-sen University, told the Global Times.

According to Li, Tianqin will be carried out in four stages over the next 15 to 20 years and will include the launch of three high-orbit satellites to detect gravitational waves.

As the project awaits governmental approval, an astronomy observatory and a new lab occupying more than 10,000 square meters will be built on Fenghuang Mountain in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province.

The US-based Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) made an announcement on Thursday confirming that it had detected gravitational waves on September 14, 2015.

The discovery fulfilled the last prediction of Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity and opens an unprecedented new window to the cosmos.

However, Li noted that LIGO's discovery of the phenomenon is an isolated event that requires support from further experiments.

Despite China's many achievements, the country still lags behind in gravitational wave research, as it has a relatively short history of scientific research compared to countries such as the US, experts said, noting that China suffers an acute shortage of specialists.

"We will deepen technical cooperation and professional resources exchange with prominent research institutes such as MIT, in addition to attracting foreign specialists," Li said.

"China needs to make more efforts in theoretical physics to become a leading nation in science and technology. Research on gravitational waves has scientific significance, [contributing to] the detection of mineral or water resource distribution and propelling the development of technologies such as laser physics and space technology," Li added.

Research on foundational scientific theories in China still has a long way to go. The country only spent 5 percent of its scientific research funding on basic research, which is much lower than the international average of 10 percent, Cao Jun, a research fellow at the Institute of High Energy Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the Global Times.

Fan Lingzhi contributed to this story

 

[BuddhaPalm]

http://24indianews.com/china-setting-highest-altitude-telescopes-close-lac-india/

This telescope is so important that we need to defend it with a mechanized division and rocket forces!

 

[navtrek]

http://24indianews.com/china-setting-highest-altitude-telescopes-close-lac-india/

This telescope is so important that we need to defend it with a mechanized division and rocket forces!

Or how about collaborating with India. We can learn together about the universe using such technologies..

 

[BuddhaPalm]

Or how about collaborating with India. We can learn together about the universe using such technologies..

I don't think China should do any form of business with Indians because the trust is simply not there.

 

[cirr]

The plateau is also perfect for setting up the planned(2020?)electromagnetic catapult launch system to lob carrier rockets/hypersonic vehicles into space:

 

[TaiShang]

Or how about collaborating with India. We can learn together about the universe using such technologies..

Definitely. No need to "weoponize" every single development. If you read the actual news by Xinhua, there is no mention of India or LAC.

Some people/newspapers are just seeking trouble even the most irrelevant scientific development.

India may be a competitor but it is also a geographic reality -- that China and India will face each other until/unless some serious tectonic shift separated Northeast or South Asia from the Asian landmass.

It may not be a good idea to pick up a story from an Indian newspaper while the original source (Xinhua) is readily available.

***

China to set up gravitational wave telescopes in Tibet Province

(Xinhua) 09:54, January 08, 2017

China is working to set up the world's highest altitude gravitational wave telescopes in Tibet Province to detect the faintest echoes resonating from the universe, which may reveal more about the Big Bang.

Construction has started for the first telescope, code-named Ngari No.1, 30 km south of Shiquanhe Town in Ngari Prefecture, said Yao Yongqiang, chief researcher with the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The telescope, located 5,250 meters above sea level, will detect and gather precise data on primordial gravitational waves in the Northern Hemisphere. It is expected to be operational by 2021.

Yao said the second phase involves a series of telescopes, code-named Ngari No. 2, to be located about 6,000 meters above sea level. He did not give a time frame for construction of Ngari No. 2.

The budget for the two-phase Ngari gravitational wave observatory is an estimated 130 million yuan (18.8 million U.S. dollars). The project was initiated by the Institute of High Energy Physics, National Astronomical Observatories, and Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, among others.

Ngari, with its high altitude, clear sky, and minimal human activity, is said to be one of the world's best spots to detect tiny twists in cosmic light.

Yao said the Ngari observatory will be among the world's top primordial gravitational wave observation bases, alongside the South Pole Telescope and the facility in Chile's Atacama Desert.

Gravitational waves were first proposed by Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity 100 years ago, but it wasn't until 2016 that scientists with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory announced proof of the waves' existence, spurring fresh research interest among the world's scientists.

China has announced its own gravitational wave research plans, which include the launch of satellites and setting up FAST, a 500-meter aperture spherical radio telescope in southwest China's Guizhou Province.

 

[navtrek]

I don't think China should do any form of business with Indians because the trust is simply not there.

Come on BuddhaPalm we aint that bad some mistrust and stupidity of the past shouldn't cloud the future.

 

[BuddhaPalm]

Come on BuddhaPalm we aint that bad some mistrust and stupidity of the past shouldn't cloud the future.

Other PDF members may be driven by a desire for China to be liked. I prefer we should be feared instead. I believe we are long past the time when we can keep a low profile and find strategic space between great powers. I believe China is better off naturally playing the role of a feared great power because this is already who we are. As for India, the conclusion is India will never accept being less than China's equal even if it means conspiring with USA to contain China. Therefore India is an adversary to be undermined at all opportunity.

 

[rott]

Other PDF members may be driven by a desire for China to be liked. I prefer we should be feared instead. I believe we are long past the time when we can keep a low profile and find strategic space between great powers. I believe China is better off naturally playing the role of a feared great power because this is already who we are. As for India, the conclusion is India will never accept being less than China's equal even if it means conspiring with USA to contain China. Therefore India is an adversary to be undermined at all opportunity.

Buddy, you should be our next Xi Jinping.

 

[ahojunk]

Buddy, you should be our next Xi Jinping.

.
Nope, definitely NOT.

BuddhaPalm, despite his name is just too trigger happy!

 

[rott]

.
Nope, definitely NOT.

BuddhaPalm, despite his name is just too trigger happy!

Lol...

 

[Shotgunner51]

China Building World’s Highest Altitude Gravitational Wave Telescopes In Tibet
By Himanshu Goenka @HimGoJourno On 01/08/17 AT 6:49 AM

They were proposed almost exactly 100 years ago by Albert Einstein, based on his theory of general relativity, but it was only in February 2016 that scientists proved the existence of gravitational waves. And now, China is starting work on the world’s highest altitude telescope that can detect them.

According to the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO, whose scientists furnished the proof for the existence of the phenomenon: “Gravitational waves are ‘ripples’ in the fabric of space-time caused by some of the most violent and energetic processes in the universe. … The strongest gravitational waves are produced by catastrophic events such as colliding black holes, the collapse of stellar cores (supernovae), coalescing neutron stars or white dwarf stars, the slightly wobbly rotation of neutron stars that are not perfect spheres, and the remnants of gravitational radiation created by the birth of the universe itself.”

Gravitational waves are completely different from electromagnetic radiation that is commonplace in the universe, and they also interact very weakly with matter even as they travel through space at the speed of light. Studying them is a completely new way, unhindered by cosmic noise, to study the nature of space and time.

Located 5,250 meters (over 17,200 feet) above sea level in Tibet, the Chinese telescope will be very well-placed to study the primordial phenomenon. The region has clear skies and minimal human activity, making it ideal for observing faint echoes from the earliest days of the universe, soon after the Big Bang.

The first telescope, code-named, Ngari No. 1, is already under construction, according to Xinhua, which cited Yao Yongqiang, chief researcher with the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who added it will be operational by 2021.

The second phase of construction, called Ngari No. 2, will involve a series of telescopes that will be constructed even higher, at an altitude of about 6,000 meters. No time frame has been given yet for completion of the second phase, but the cost of building the two-phase observatory is estimated to be 130 million yuan (about $18.8 million).

Of the seven continents on Earth, only Asia, North America and South America have mountains higher than Ngari No. 2.

http://www.ibtimes.com/china-buildi...e-gravitational-wave-telescopes-tibet-2471798

 

[Jlaw]

I don't think China should do any form of business with Indians because the trust is simply not there.

nothing to gain from Indian.