Quote:
Originally Posted by tizmeinnit
but they can not categorically say they have it right they can simply say they think they do
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It needs to be confirmed first. However like the Higgs Boson this squares a theory. For the inflation theory to be correct the scientists said that these 'gravitation waves' would exist alongside some other things. There was a lot of supporting evidence for the inflation theory but they needed to find that these waves exist, the smoking gun of inflation theory. Presuming there hasn't been a awful mistake they've found it.
Also they don't simply 'think' they have it right. They have evidence to support their hypothesis. It's also hard to doubt them when they said something would be there and then find it is. Their hypothesis is holding up.
---------- Post added at 21:31 ---------- Previous post was at 21:23 ----------
Better explanation here:
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2...-physics-bicep
Quote:
Scientists have heralded a "whole new era" in physics with the detection of "primordial gravitational waves" – the first tremors of the big bang.
The minuscule ripples in space-time are the last prediction of Albert Einstein's 1916 general theory of relativity to be verified. Until now, there has only been circumstantial evidence of their existence. The discovery also provides a deep connection between general relativity and quantum mechanics, another central pillar of physics.
"This is a genuine breakthrough," says Andrew Pontzen, a cosmologist from University College London who was not involved in the work. "It represents a whole new era in cosmology and physics as well." If the discovery is confirmed, it will almost certainly lead to a Nobel Prize.
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