science

GW170608

GW170608 is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand GW170608 rather than just read about it. In short: GW170608 was a gravitational wave event that was recorded on 8 June 2017 at 02:01:16.49 UTC by Advanced LIGO. It originated from the merger of two black holes with masses of 12+7−2 M☉ and 7+2−2 M☉.

Key takeaways

GW170608 belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect GW170608 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of GW170608 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

GW170608 was a gravitational wave event that was recorded on 8 June 2017 at 02:01:16.49 UTC by Advanced LIGO. It originated from the merger of two black holes with masses of 12+7−2 M☉ and 7+2−2 M☉. The resulting black hole had a mass around 18 solar masses. About one solar mass was converted to energy in the form of gravitational waves.

Event detection The signal was not detected by automated analyses, as the Hanford instrument was undergoing tests at specific frequencies and data from the instrument was not being analyzed. The signal was initially identified by visual inspection of triggers from the Livingston detector. Manual follow-up with the Hanford data revealed a coincident signal. Subsequent investigations determined that the ongoing tests of the Hanford instrument did not affect the recovery of the signal from the Hanford data.

Announcement This was the first gravitational wave detection where the scientific article announcing the discovery was posted on the electronic preprint arXiv server before the paper was accepted for publication by the journal.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with GW170608

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what GW170608 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to GW170608 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about GW170608 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of GW170608

In research: GW170608 appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses GW170608 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: GW170608 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2017 in outer space, 2017 in science, Gravitational-wave events, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for GW170608 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study GW170608 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what GW170608 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain GW170608 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is GW170608 in simple terms?

Why does GW170608 matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study GW170608?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on GW170608.