NASA Simulates Gravity Waves
One problem with advanced physics concepts is that it is often literally impossible to solve the math equations that result. Einstein's theory of general relativity is one such mathematical system, resulting in a set of tensor calculus equations. Unsolvable in Einstein's day, sophisticated modern computers require thousands of lines of code in order to solve even the simplest tensor equations.
Consider the complexity: four-dimensional spacetime coordinate systems that actually change as a result of the gravity waves rippling through them, written in a form of calculus that, in itself, is exceedingly complex. Even ignoring the myth that Albert Einstein was bad at math, it's easy to understand why he wouldn't be able to solve such a system.
A team of mathematicians and physicists with the Goddard Space Center have successfully determined a series of formulations that lead to suitable solutions, helped out by the Columbia supercomputer at Goddard (the fourth fastest supercomputer in the world) and a customized program, Hahndol, that allows them to essentially utilize all the computer memory at once. Still, it took 18 months of work to arrive at the simulations.
The simulations specifically focus on the gravity waves that take place when two massive black holes collide. Einstein predicted such gravitational radiation as a consequence of general relativity, but the equations were so complex that it wasn't truly possible to envision how such waves would physically manifest. Findings from new & proposed observatories that could potentially detect these gravity waves could be compared directly to the simulation data, to see if Einstein's formulas match the observed results.
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In related news, another pair of NASA scientists, using IBM's BlueGene/L supercomputer, have created the most detailed simulation of a type Ia supernova, one of the most powerful explosions in the universe. Check out some other major computer simulations of physical systems:
Comments
Columbia is not located at Goddard – it’s located at Ames Research Center in Mountain View.