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What are gravitational waves? - Amber L. Stuver

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In September 2015, scientists witnessed something never seen before: two black holes colliding. Both about 30 times as big as our Sun, they had been orbiting each other for millions of years. A fraction of a second before the crash, they sent a vibration across the universe at the speed of light that was picked up by the LIGO detector. So what are these ripples in space? Amber L. Stuver explains.

Black holes colliding, neutron stars colliding, and a star collapsing before a supernova are just a few sources of gravitational waves. What do these have in common; that is, what is happening to the mass in each of these that makes the gravitational waves?

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TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Amber L. Stuver
  • Director Eoin Duffy
  • Script Editor Eleanor Nelsen
  • Animator Eoin Duffy
  • Sound Designer Weston Fonger
  • Associate Producer Jessica Ruby
  • Content Producer Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal
  • Narrator Julianna Zarzycki

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