Published: 11th May, 2023
Context
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory – India (LIGO-India), on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Pokhran-II nuclear tests.
What is LIGO-India?
- LIGO-India will be an advanced gravitational-wave observatory to be located in India as part of a worldwide network.
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Brief about LIGO
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- Background: LIGO-India had received the government’s in-principle approval in February 2016. Since then, the project reached several milestones towards selecting and acquiring a site and building the observatory.
- Collaboration: It is envisaged as a collaborative project between a consortium of Indian research institutions and the LIGO Laboratory in the USA, along with its international partners.
- The United States will provide key components for the lab worth USD 80 million, which amounts to Rs 560 crore.
- Built by: The LIGO-India project will be built by the Department of Atomic Energy and the Department of Science and Technology, with a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Science Foundation, the US, along with several national and international research and academic institutions.
- Location: Hingoli district of Maharashtra, about 450 km east of Mumbai
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Gravitational waves are 'ripples' in space-time caused by some of the most violent and energetic processes in the Universe. |
- LIGO-India will be an extremely sensitive interferometer capable of sensing gravitational waves generated during the merger of massive astrophysical objects such as black holes, and neutron stars.
- The observatory comprises two 4-km-long vacuum chambers, built perpendicular to each other. Highly reflective mirrors are placed at the end of the vacuum chambers.
- Fifth node: LIGO India would be the fifth node of this international network of gravitational wave observatories. Currently, there are following operational gravitational wave observatories around the world–
- two in the United States (Hanford and Livingston)
- one in Italy (Virgo)
- one in Japan (Kagra)
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National Technology Day May 11 marks the 25th anniversary of the 1998 nuclear tests carried out at Pokhran test range, including its first test of a thermonuclear device, which has since been celebrated as the National Technology Day to honour scientists, engineers and technologists who made the tests possible. |
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