LIGO Hanford Observatory – Richland, Washington - Atlas Obscura
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LIGO Hanford Observatory

Richland, Washington

One of the two observatories in the US that, working in tandem, routinely detect gravitational waves. 

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Wave propagation by colliding pendulums. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)
Wave propagation by colliding pendulums. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)
Locate a sound with your ears. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)
About the Oscylindriscope. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)
Oscylinderscope. Press the pedal to start the drum spinning and pluck a guitar string. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)
Wave machine. Visitors are free to make waves. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)
The giant Slinky. Visitors are free to make waves in it. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)
A giant Slinky to illustrate wave propagation. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)
About the ultrastrong glass fibers. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)
Demonstration of the extraordinarily strong glass fibers. that suspend the main LIGO mirrors. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)
Copy of the Nobel Prize medal awarded to Weiss, Barish, and Thorne in 2017 for the successful detection of gravitational waves. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)
Entering the Exploration Center. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)
A model of Joseph Weber's early (1965) apparatus to try to detect gravitational waves. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)
The Wave Machine. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)
Plaque commemorating the first unequivocal detection of gravitational waves on September 14, 2015. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)
Distant view of the facility. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)
Input tube (spare) slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)
About the optical suspension. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)
Model of the optical suspension for the lasers. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)
Input tube (side view) slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)
Part of a concrete shell. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)
About the concrete shells around the interferometer. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)
The plaque setting, atop a basalt column. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)
Not open to visitors today. slgwv (Atlas Obscura User)
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