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Rainer Weiss

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1932– · gravitational physics, experimental physics
American experimental physicist, inventor of the laser interferometer for detecting gravitational waves. His ideas and persistence led to the creation of the LIGO project, which in 2015 first detected gravitational waves from merging black holes, confirming Einstein's prediction and opening a new era of observational astrophysics.

Biography

Born in Berlin, emigrated to the USA as a child due to Nazism. Studied at MIT, where he worked his entire career, rising from technician to professor. In the 1970s, he developed the concept of the laser interferometer, and spent decades securing funding for LIGO. Winner of the 2017 Nobel Prize (jointly with Barish and Thorne).

Key discoveries

💡 In his youth, he started as a technician at MIT without a science degree, but eventually became a leading physicist. His first proposals for LIGO were rejected, and it took 40 years of persistent work for the project to succeed.
Quote: "What has always driven me is curiosity, the desire to find out what the universe can show us."
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gravitational wavesblack hole
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Einstein field equations
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Henri PoincaréFritz ZwickyJacob BekensteinSubrahmanyan ChandrasekharStephen HawkingKarl SchwarzschildJoseph WeberKip Thorne

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