Physics Buzz

For the first time ever, gravitational wave s have been detected directly, and the news — broken by the LIGO team on February 11, 2016 — has made some waves of its own. To sort out some difficult-to-explain points that have made their way into the media this week, we turn to the experts: Lynn Cominsky , Professor and Chair of the Physics Department at Sonoma State University, who joined Physics Central recently for a live Q&A following the announcement, and Rana Adhikari , Professor of Physics at Caltech.

One hundred years ago this year, Einstein first published his theory of general relativity . This theory fundamentally changed how physicists think about the universe and is thoroughly embedded in the everyday technologies we rely on here on Earth. In tribute, the talent behind Science Magazine created a wonderful interactive comic that describes the key idea behind general relativity — that space and time warp around massive objects, leading to the "force" we call gravity. Click on this image to view the comic, or follow the link here . Click to view an interactive comic on general relativity, featuring superhero Einstein! Credit: Screenshot from Science Magazine's comic .