Por Francisco Lobo (IA/FCUL).

Abstract: Rainer Weiss (MIT), Kip Thorne (CALTECH) and Barry Barish (CALTECH) were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics "for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves". The LIGO detections finally confirmed Albert Einstein’s century-old prediction that during cataclysmic events the fabric of spacetime itself can be stretched and squeezed, sending gravitational ripples out across the universe. Here, we historically review this amazing adventure and how the discovery provides humanity with the ability to view the Universe in a totally different prism.