The Astronomers — Season 1, Episode 4: Waves of the Future
Documentary • 57 min • 1 season, 6 episodes • ★ 8.0/10
Episode synopsis
Gravity waves, as yet undetected but predicted by Albert Einstein, may contain the answers to many questions about the universe. Soviet scientist Leonid Grishchuk and American scientist Kip Thorne describe their attempts to prove the existence of the waves. The episode also visits a gravity-wave detector prototype and describes the three-mile-long full-scale version, planned for construction in the late 1990's. Grishchuk and scientist Stephen Hawking meet.
About The Astronomers
This series explores the lives and work of noted modern-day astronomers, taking the viewer into the farthest reaches of outer space in search of black holes, quasars, dark matter, gravity waves, stars and evidence of planets outside our solar system. Intriguing celestial phenomena are examined from the perspectives of the experts: the men and women that are uncovering the secrets of the cosmos. Further, the series focuses not only on professional achievements, but on the scientists' personal lives as well.