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Programmer speeds search for gravitational waves
"I wish to express my appreciation to Akos...It's simply breathtaking what my old crusty machines are capable of now."
- Volunteer
Germany - A global effort to detect gravitational waves has received an unexpected boost after a volunteer improved the computer code used comb through data from ground-based detectors.
Gravitational waves are ripples in space-time predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity that should be radiated by massive objects such as black holes. Directly detecting them would provide astronomers with a very valuable new tool for observing the cosmos.