On 16 Aug 2004 03:16:43 -0700, (Igor) wrote:

"Australopithecus Afarensis" wrote in message news:zQXTc.100010$sh.86278@fed1read06...
Most likely LIGO will detect gravitational waves.
See: http://www.ligo.caltech.edu/
http:/www.edu-observatory.org/eo/cosmology.html

It is very interesting how institutions would spend millions of dollars
trying to detect something that has not been thoroughly understood.


The theory of gravitational radiation has been well established for
several decades. Details can usually be found in any GR textbook.
Weinberg's book is probably the best in this regard.


As I
read in Scientific American a year or two ago, LIGO was chosen to be built
in places where noise generated by human activities are at near maximum.
This means LIGO's detection of gravitational waves is subjected to broad and
creative interpretations of data which can easily be explained by something
else.

Either you or Scientific American are incorrect, look at the pictures
of the LIGO sites.




Why do you think they built two of them in entirely separate
locations?

Error checking, redundancy, and most importantly, so direction can be
discerned.