Good vibrations

For six years now Cal Tech has been doing big science in the Livingston Parish countryside. When construction of its LIGO facility was complete, the observatory, a 2.5-mile, V-shaped structure housing lasers within vacuum pipes, provided ample means for physical scientists to embark on groundbreaking studies of gravitational waves.

For locals, it provided target practice.

“We had to have a talk with the sheriff,” says Dr. Micheal Zucker, Observatory Head. “And that put an end to it. A bullet through our vacuum could be a catastrophe.”

What inebriated locals may have thought was a simple concrete wall or tunnel is actually one of only a handful of Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatories on the planet. The $300 million Livingston Observatory utilizes split laser beams and fused silica mirrors suspended at the ends of two 2.5-mile vacuum tunnels—some of the largest ever built.

Their purpose: detecting disturbances in Einstein’s “space-time fabric” as they pass through Earth. These minute ripples, otherwise undetectable as they reach Earth, may originate as black hole collisions and exploding supernovae 300 million light years away.

Because LIGO’s equipment must be as stable as possible to detect phenomena so far away, Zucker and his staff have worked hard to ensure they are on solid ground. It’s not always easy. The wooded area between Livingston and Frost is big logging country. Special dampers had to be installed to counteract the impact of falling trees. The 6.0 earthquake in the Gulf this summer was felt by few in Baton Rouge, but it threw a scheduled calibration test completely out of whack.

On Nov. 13 LIGO opens its cutting edge Science Education Center. The 10,000-square-foot facility offers an interactive tour, experiments and exhibits for all ages. LIGO believes its greatest impact will be on middle school groups and the teachers who bring practical materials and experiments from LIGO into the day-to-day classrooms of the Baton Rouge region.

“This is world-class physics research in an area that needs a boost in science education,” says John Thacker, Educational Outreach Director. “The science is so exciting, and that’s what motivates the educational aspect.”

Among the 40 hands-on activities at LIGO are a giant suspended slinky used to demonstrate wave theory, and an undulating soap film display that models light interference. In principle, each exhibit ties in with the advanced science fueling LIGO’s gravitational wave research.

“We’ve come to expect the unexpected,” Zucker says of the work. “What we’re looking for is unmodeled and statistically unlikely—just like radio waves once were. It’s an exploration.”

For more information about LIGO or to make reservations for the Science Education Center, visit ligo-la.caltech.edu or call (225) 686-3100.