The next wave of Nobel Prize winners for Physics 2017 was divided, one half has been awarded to Rainer Weiss, the other half jointly to Barry C. Barish and Kip S. Thorne "for their decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves".
It has been 100 years since Einstein first predicted gravitational waves Albert Einstein first predicted that the fabric of spacetime itself could be set to rippling by a powerful enough force.
The press release from Nobelprize.org states,
"LIGO, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, is a collaborative project with over one thousand researchers from more than twenty countries. Together, they have realised a vision that is almost fifty years old. The 2017 Nobel Laureates have, with their enthusiasm and determination, each been invaluable to the success of LIGO. Pioneers Rainer Weiss and Kip S. Thorne, together with Barry C. Barish, the scientist and leader who brought the project to completion, ensured that four decades of effort led to gravitational waves finally being observed."
Photograph: Molly Riley/AFP/Getty Images
https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2017/
http://time.com/4801186/gravitational-waves-albert-einstein-theory/
