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Gravity

Gravity

Why that massive black-hole merger is important, battling quantum decoherence on two fronts

03 Sep 2020 Hamish Johnston

This week the LIGO-Virgo collaboration announced the detection of gravitational waves from the most massive black-hole merger ever seen.  This podcast features an interview with LIGO–Virgo member and University of Portsmouth astrophysicist Laura Nuttall, who explains why scientists are puzzling over the origin of one of the black holes involved in the merger. She also looks forward to the next observing run of the LIGO–Virgo detectors and what astrophysical events they might capture.

The podcast also includes a round-up of what is new in physics this week, including two very different ways of dealing with decoherence in quantum computers, a new way of using X-rays to personalize the treatment of a serious eye disease and a breakthrough in our understanding of how bubbles pop.

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