[slate]
Well
what we saw was the result of the merging of two neutron stars
very compact stars. When they merged they created
an explosion in space-time. Those ripples went out
across the universe as gravitational waves and were detected on
Earth. The matter involved was heated up to a very high temperature
which gave off gamma rays and other forms of light. And in that
fireball, the matter was fused into gold and platinum
and other heavy elements that were diffused back into the interstellar
medium. Almost everything I've said is the first time we've ever seen that
happen.
[slate] That is absolutely what I'm saying
We think that all the gold in the universe was formed in explosions of this kind.
After the explosion happens, the gold is spread out into
gas and dust of the interstellar medium. Later on that gas and dust
collapses into brand new stars and brand new planetary systems
and on those planets there will be gold to be mined and formed into
the rings on your finger.
[slate] this is about the fourth time we've seen gravitational waves
a merger in the distant
universe. This is the first time we've seen light from the event
and the combination of the gravitational waves and the light
that seen by telescopes all over the world and in orbit
has allowed us to deduce exactly what was happening and that's how we
for the first time seeing the formation of gold, platinum and other heavy metals
elements actually happening. It's confirmed our ideas of what
must be going on but we had no direct confirmation before
of this event.
[slate] Gravitational waves are ripples
in space-time that are caused when two black holes
or neutron stars merge. Some of their mass is converted
into gravitational energy that then goes spreading out across the universe
like ripples and it
provides us with information that's very different than the information we get
from light so we can learn things about the universe that we didn't know before