Laser Interferometer Gravitational – Wave Observatory (LIGO) – India
Recently the Prime Minister has laid the foundation stone of Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory – India (LIGO – India).
LIGO-India is being built in Hingoli district of Maharashtra. LIGO-India is a planned Advanced Gravitational Wave Observatory. It will be located in India as part of a worldwide network of such observatories.
Origin: The project was approved “in principle” in 2016. It is targeted to be completed by 2030.
Funding: Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), and Department of Science and Technology (DST).
Functioning of LIGO –
- The observatory comprises two vacuum chambers each 4 km long. They are made perpendicular to each other.
- Highly reflective mirrors are installed at the end of the vacuum chambers.
- Light rays are released simultaneously in both the vacuum chambers.
- Under normal circumstances, the light rays from both chambers come back at the same time. Here the presence of a phase difference between the two rays indicates the presence of a gravitational wave.
Source – PIB
