Appendices
279
Fig. A.8 The decay of the orbital period of the binary system containing the HulseTaylor pulsar. The continuous line is the expected trend predicted from General
Relativity. The diamonds are the measured values. Image: public domain (Image:
Inductiveload—Own work, Public Domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.
php?curid=9538634 (accessed 2020/7/28))
further test of General Relativity. The period of rotation of the binary system
has been measured accurately over several decades. The results are presented
in Fig. A.8.
As can be seen from the figure, the period of rotation of the binary system
has decayed, precisely according to the predictions of General Relativity, over
thirty years of measurement. The confidence of physicists in the reality of
gravitational waves therefore grew, and motivated the construction of even
more sensitive apparatus in an attempt to detect these elusive ripples in space–
time on their passage through the earth. As discussed in Chap. 7, the first
direct detection of a gravitational wave was made on 14th September, 2015,
and with improvements in the technology since that date, detections have
become almost commonplace.
279
Fig. A.8 The decay of the orbital period of the binary system containing the HulseTaylor pulsar. The continuous line is the expected trend predicted from General
Relativity. The diamonds are the measured values. Image: public domain (Image:
Inductiveload—Own work, Public Domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.
php?curid=9538634 (accessed 2020/7/28))
further test of General Relativity. The period of rotation of the binary system
has been measured accurately over several decades. The results are presented
in Fig. A.8.
As can be seen from the figure, the period of rotation of the binary system
has decayed, precisely according to the predictions of General Relativity, over
thirty years of measurement. The confidence of physicists in the reality of
gravitational waves therefore grew, and motivated the construction of even
more sensitive apparatus in an attempt to detect these elusive ripples in space–
time on their passage through the earth. As discussed in Chap. 7, the first
direct detection of a gravitational wave was made on 14th September, 2015,
and with improvements in the technology since that date, detections have
become almost commonplace.