Hawking Congratulates Scientists for Work on Gravitational Waves

The observed properties of the system were consistent with predictions about black holes that Hawking made in 1970.

Professor Stephen Hawking talking to BBC’s Pallab Ghosh about gravitational waves. (Photo Courtesy: Youtube Screengrab)

With the scientific world going crazy about the discovery of gravitational waves, Prof Stephen Hawking congratulated scientists on their groundbreaking work, in an interview with BBC’s Pallab Ghosh.

Gravitational waves provide a completely new way of looking at the universe. The ability to detect them has the potential to revolutionise astronomy. This discovery is the first detection of a black hole binary system and the first observation of black holes merging.

Stephen Hawking, Research Director, Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Cambridge University

The observed properties of the system, he added, were consistent with predictions about black holes that he made in 1970 in Cambridge.

When asked what more could be discovered if scientists scanned for gravitational waves, he said: “Apart from testing general relativity, we could hope to see black holes throughout the history of the universe. We may even see relics of the very early universe during the big bang at the most extreme energies possible.”

Thanks to the efforts of the force of scientists, the discovery of gravitational waves has opened a whole new frontier for the scientific world.