USEUROPEAFRICAASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
    China
    Home / China / Society

    Work begins on observatory in Tibet

    By Cheng Yingqi | China Daily | Updated: 2017-01-12 07:23

    Construction began this month on an observatory in Southwest China that will look for waves in space created by the Big Bang.

    The observatory is being built on a plateau 5,000 meters above sea level in the Tibet autonomous region's Ali district, which has been identified as one of the best places in the Northern Hemisphere for possibly observing primordial gravitational waves.

    The observatory is expected to be finished in five years.

    Gravitational waves, predicted by Albert Einstein in 1915 as part of his general theory of relativity, are generated when celestial bodies collide.

    The advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory in the United States became the first to detect them in September 2015 when it picked up waves caused by the merging of two black holes 1.3 billion years ago.

    Work begins on observatory in Tibet

    However, primordial gravitational waves, which the Ali observatory will focus on, are believed to have been created about 13.8 billion years ago by the Big Bang, the explosion that scientists say created the universe, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

    So far, primordial gravitational waves have never been detected.

    Electromagnetic radiation travels through space in light waves that are distinguished by varying wavelengths. One of them, the submillimeter wavelength, will be key to finding primordial gravitational waves, said Wang Junjie, an astrophysicist at the National Astronomical Observatories, part of the CAS.

    "The Big Bang spread sub-millimeter light waves over a wide area. So researchers will install a submillimeter telescope on the mountains in Ali to search for submillimeter waves and uncover primordial gravitational waves from the Big Bang," he said.

    "What we're searching for is primordial gravitational waves that have traveled for 13.8 billion years before arriving at Earth, and, if they exist, they're very weak."

    What makes submillimeter waves difficult to detect is the moisture in Earth's atmosphere, which absorbs the waves.

    "Thanks to the thin air and dry climate in Tibet, which reduces the influence of moisture, the region is one of the best sites in the Northern Hemisphere for submillimeter observation," Wang added.

    According to a report by Science and Technology Daily, the observatory project is being led by the CAS' Institute of High Energy Physics and has received a 130 million yuan ($18.8 million) research grant from the central government.

    "Searching for primordial gravitational waves is of great significance," Wang Yifang, director of the Institute of High Energy Physics, was quoted in the report as saying. "China will take the international lead in primordial gravitational wave research when the observation station is completed."

    China also launched another project to detect gravitational waves in July 2015, the Tianqin project that plans to take four steps in two decades to launch three satellites into high Earth orbit and detect gravitational waves.

    chengyingqi@chinadaily.com.cn

    Editor's picks
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
     
    人妻av无码一区二区三区| 99久久中文字幕| 暖暖免费中文在线日本| 国产精品视频一区二区三区无码| 在线观看中文字幕码| 中文最新版地址在线| 国产精品亚韩精品无码a在线| 台湾无码AV一区二区三区| 色综合中文综合网| 一本色道无码道在线| 日韩AV无码中文无码不卡电影| 无码人妻精品中文字幕免费东京热 | 东京热av人妻无码专区| 中文字幕亚洲欧美日韩在线不卡| 国产羞羞的视频在线观看 国产一级无码视频在线 | 亚洲欧洲中文日韩av乱码| 在线看中文福利影院| 精品无码国产污污污免费网站国产| 人妻精品久久无码区 | 国产成人无码精品久久久免费| 人妻少妇AV无码一区二区| 中文字幕欧美日韩在线不卡| 无码人妻精品中文字幕免费东京热| 久久无码AV中文出轨人妻 | 国产精品中文久久久久久久| 日韩成人无码影院| 国产日韩精品无码区免费专区国产| 国产日韩精品中文字无码| 久久99精品久久久久久hb无码| 亚洲av无码片vr一区二区三区| 亚洲AV永久无码精品成人| 东京热av人妻无码专区| 亚洲日韩国产二区无码| 亚洲国产精品无码中文字| 亚洲VA成无码人在线观看天堂| 亚洲av无码精品网站| 无码中文字幕日韩专区视频| 无码专区AAAAAA免费视频| 50岁人妻丰满熟妇αv无码区| 久久久久久国产精品无码下载| 少妇极品熟妇人妻无码|