StarDate Penn State: Gravity is Topic of Radio Series

To help celebrate the 100-year anniversary of Einstein's publication of his theory of Special Relativity, the Penn State Center for Gravitational Wave Physics collaborated with the McDonald Observatory in Texas to produce four episodes of the radio program "StarDate." The series will air on StarDate Radio between 27 June and 1 July 2005. In the University Park area, broadcasts of the StarDate program are supported by the Penn State/NASA Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium and air weekdays at 6:33 a.m., 4:04 p.m., and 8:04 p.m on WPSU-radio at 91.5 FM and on the web at http://www.pspb.org/wpsu/listen_live.htm.

On Monday, 27 June, the first program will introduce listeners to gravity as "the weakest of the basic forces of nature," overpowered by electromagnetism, but still hard to ignore.

The topic of programs airing on Tuesday and Wednesday, 28 and 29 June concerns one of the predictions of Einstein's theory of General Relativity--that gravity travels through space in waves. Einstein described gravity as "a warp in space caused by matter." These gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of the universe, which scientists call "spacetime." Although gravitational waves have not yet been detected directly, scientists have indirect evidence of this phenomenon. Researchers at Penn State and elsewhere now have begun attempts to "feel" these ripples in spacetime with a number of new instruments, some in various stages of construction on Earth and one planned for construction in space during the next decade.

The final program on Friday, 1 July, will look at the "Speed of Gravity." Einstein predicted that gravity should move through the universe at the speed of light. Astronomers hope to use gravitational-wave observatories to determine of this is true by comparing visible light and gravity waves that can be traced to a single source. In addition to these four segments that feature Penn State research, the series will include a related program, titled "Special Relativity," on Thursday, 30 June.

Star Date is the public-education and outreach arm of the McDonald Observatory at the University of Texas. Its English and Spanish radio programs air daily on more than 500 stations and reach more than two million listeners. More information about these programs is online at http://cgwp.gravity.psu.edu/outreach/stardate/stardate.shtml. Transcripts will be available in English at http://stardate.org or in Spanish at http://radiouniverso.org after the programs have been broadcast.

[ L A K / B K K ]