Rainer Weiss Explained

Rainer Weiss
Birth Place:Berlin, Germany
Education:Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS, PhD)
Known For:Pioneering laser interferometric gravitational wave observation
Awards:Einstein Prize (2007)
Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (2016)
Gruber Prize in Cosmology (2016)
Shaw Prize (2016)
Kavli Prize (2016)
Harvey Prize (2016)
Princess of Asturias Award (2017)
Nobel Prize in Physics (2017)
Field:Physics
Laser physics
Experimental gravitation
Cosmic background measurements
Workplaces:Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Princeton University
Tufts University
Thesis Title:Stark Effect and Hyperfine Structure of Hydrogen Fluoride
Thesis Url:https://search.proquest.com/docview/302113994/
Thesis Year:1962
Doctoral Advisor:Jerrold R. Zacharias
Doctoral Students:Nergis Mavalvala
Philip K. Chapman
Rana X. Adhikari

Rainer "Rai" Weiss (pronounced as /de/; born September 29, 1932) is a German-born American physicist, known for his contributions in gravitational physics and astrophysics. He is a professor of physics emeritus at MIT and an adjunct professor at LSU. He is best known for inventing the laser interferometric technique which is the basic operation of LIGO. He was Chair of the COBE Science Working Group.[1] [2] [3]

In 2017, Weiss was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, along with Kip Thorne and Barry Barish, "for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves".[4] [5] [6] [7]

Weiss has helped realize a number of challenging experimental tests of fundamental physics. He is a member of the Fermilab Holometer experiment, which uses a 40m laser interferometer to measure properties of space and time at quantum scale and provide Planck-precision tests of quantum holographic fluctuation.[8] [9]

Early life and education

Rainer Weiss was born in Berlin, Germany, the son of Gertrude Loesner and Frederick A. Weiss.[10] [11] His father, a physician, neurologist, and psychoanalyst, was forced out of Germany by Nazis because he was Jewish and an active member of the Communist Party. His mother, an actress, was Christian.[12] His aunt was the sociologist Hilda Weiss.

The family fled first to Prague, but Germany's occupation of Czechoslovakia after the 1938 Munich Agreement caused them to flee again; the philanthropic Stix family of St. Louis helped them obtain visas to enter the United States.[13] Weiss spent his youth in New York City, where he attended Columbia Grammar School. He studied at MIT, dropped out during his junior year,[14] but eventually returned to receive his S.B. degree in 1955 and Ph.D. degree in 1962 under Jerrold Zacharias.[15]

He taught at Tufts University from 1960 to 1962, was a postdoctoral scholar at Princeton University from 1962 to 1964, and then joined the faculty at MIT in 1964.[10]

In a 2022 interview given to Federal University of Pará in Brazil, Weiss talks about his life and career, the memories of his childhood and youth, his undergraduate and graduate studies at MIT, and the future of gravitational waves astronomy.[16]

Achievements

Weiss brought two fields of fundamental physics research from birth to maturity: characterization of the cosmic background radiation,[3] and interferometric gravitational wave observation.

In 1973 he made pioneering measurements of the spectrum of the cosmic microwave background radiation, taken from a weather balloon, showing that the microwave background exhibited the thermal spectrum characteristic of the remnant radiation from the Big Bang.[14] He later became co-founder and science advisor of the NASA Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite,[1] which made detailed mapping of the radiation.

Weiss also pioneered the concept of using lasers for an interferometric gravitational wave detector, suggesting that the path length required for such a detector would necessitate kilometer-scale arms. He built a prototype in the 1970s, following earlier work by Robert L. Forward.[17] [18] He co-founded the NSF LIGO (gravitational-wave detection) project,[19] which was based on his report "A study of a long Baseline Gravitational Wave Antenna System".[20]

Both of these efforts couple challenges in instrument science with physics important to the understanding of the Universe.[21]

In February 2016, he was one of the four scientists of LIGO/Virgo collaboration presenting at the press conference for the announcement that the first direct gravitational wave observation had been made in September 2015.[22] [23] [24] [25]

Honors and awards

Rainer Weiss has been recognized by numerous awards including:

Selected publications

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Lars Brink. Nobel Lectures in Physics (2006–2010). June 2, 2014. World Scientific. 978-981-4612-70-8. 25–.
  2. Web site: NASA and COBE Scientists Win Top Cosmology Prize. NASA. 2006. February 22, 2016. March 3, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303180234/http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2006/gruber_award.html. dead.
  3. Measurements of the Cosmic Background Radiation. Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys.. Weiss, Rainer. 1980. 18. 489–535. 10.1146/annurev.aa.18.090180.002421. 1980ARA&A..18..489W. free.
  4. Web site: The Nobel Prize in Physics 2017. The Nobel Foundation. October 3, 2017. October 3, 2017.
  5. News: Rincon . Paul . Amos . Jonathan . Einstein's waves win Nobel Prize . . October 3, 2017 . October 3, 2017.
  6. News: Overbye . Dennis . Dennis Overbye . 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics Awarded to LIGO Black Hole Researchers . October 3, 2017 . . October 3, 2017 .
  7. News: Kaiser . David . David Kaiser (physicist) . Learning from Gravitational Waves . October 3, 2017 . . October 3, 2017 .
  8. Web site: Why we built the Holometer. Emily Tapp. IOP, Classical and Quantum Gravity journal. October 6, 2017. October 22, 2017.
  9. The Holometer: an instrument to probe Planckian quantum geometry. Aaron Chou . etal . Class. Quantum Grav.. 34. 6. 065005 . 10.1088/1361-6382/aa5e5c. 1611.08265. 2017CQGra..34f5005C. 2017 . 119065032 .
  10. Web site: Weiss CV at mit.edu.
  11. News: MIT physicist Rainer Weiss shares Nobel Prize in physics . October 3, 2017 . MIT News .
  12. Web site: Rainer Weiss Biography. kavliprize.org. July 7, 2018. October 13, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171013133206/http://www.kavliprize.org/sites/default/files/Rainer%20Weiss%20autobiography.pdf. dead.
  13. Web site: Interview with Rainer Weiss . Oral History Project, California Institute of Technology . Shirley K. Cohen . May 10, 2000. October 22, 2017.
  14. Cho, Adrian (August 4, 2016). "Meet the College Dropout who Invented the Gravitational Wave Detector", Science. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  15. Stark effect and hyperfine structure of hydrogen fluoride . 1962 . . Ph.D. . Weiss . Rainer . . subscription . 33374441.
  16. Interview with Rainer Weiss (2017 Physics Nobel Prize Laureate) . Federal University of Pará . 2022.
  17. Cho, Adrian (October 3, 2017). "Ripples in space: U.S. trio wins physics Nobel for discovery of gravitational waves," Science. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  18. Cervantes-Cota, Jorge L., Galindo-Uribarri, Salvador, and Smoot, George F. (2016). "A Brief History of Gravitational Waves," Universe, 2, no. 3, 22. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  19. News: Got gravitational waves? Thank NSF's approach to building big facilities. Science Magazine. 2017-11-14. 1095-9203. Jeffrey. Mervis.
  20. Linsay, P., Saulson, P., and Weiss, R. (1983). "A Study of a Long Baseline Gravitational Wave Antenna System, NSF. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  21. The Evolution of Advanced LIGO. LIGO Magazine. 2012. 1. David Shoemaker.
  22. News: Gravitational Waves Exist: The Inside Story of How Scientists Finally Found Them. The New Yorker. 2016-02-11. 0028-792X. Nicola. Twilley.
  23. Abbott, B.P. . Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger . . 116 . 6 . 061102 . 2016 . 10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.061102 . etal . 26918975. 1602.03837 . 2016PhRvL.116f1102A . 124959784 .
  24. News: Naeye . Robert . Gravitational Wave Detection Heralds New Era of Science . Sky and Telescope . February 11, 2016 . February 11, 2016 .
  25. Einstein's gravitational waves found at last . Nature News. February 11, 2016 . Castelvecchi . Davide . Witze . Alexandra . 10.1038/nature.2016.19361 . 182916902. February 11, 2016 .
  26. Web site: Prize Recipient. aps.org.
  27. Web site: Breakthrough Prize – Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics Awarded For Detection of Gravitational Waves 100 Years After Albert Einstein Predicted Their Existence. May 2, 2016. breakthroughprize.org. San Francisco. en. 2017-10-03.
  28. Web site: 2016 Gruber Cosmology Prize Press Release. May 4, 2016. gruber.yale.edu. The Gruber Foundation. en. 2017-10-03.
  29. Web site: Shaw Prize 2016. May 31, 2016. March 3, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180303094456/http://www.shawprize.org/en/shaw.php?tmp=3&twoid=102&threeid=254&fourid=476. dead.
  30. 9 Scientific Pioneers Receive The 2016 Kavli Prizes. The Kavli. Prize. www.prnewswire.com.
  31. https://harveypz.net.technion.ac.il/harvey-prize-laureates/ Harvey Prize 2016
  32. Web site: Meet the Team of Scientists Who Discovered Gravitational Waves. Smithsonian Magazine.
  33. Web site: The Willis E. Lamb Award for Laser Science and Quantum Optics. March 17, 2017.
  34. Web site: The Princess of Asturias Foundation. www.fpa.es.
  35. Web site: Group 2: Astronomy, Physics and Geophysics. Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. December 22, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171222162631/http://english.dnva.no/c40134/artikkel/vis.html?tid=40149. December 22, 2017. dead. mdy-all.
  36. Web site: Joseph Weber Award for Astronomical Instrumentation . American Astronomical Society.
  37. Web site: AAS Fellows. AAS. 1 October 2020.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Rainer Weiss".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.