China plans to launch its first satellite to test the technologies of the space-based gravitational wave detection program "Tianqin" by the end of 2019.

 

中国计划于2019年底之前发射首颗用于检测太空重力波探测技术的卫星——天琴。

 

The program Tianqin, meaning "harp¹ in sky," was initiated² by Sun Yat-sen University in south China's Guangdong Province in 2015. It will consist of three satellites forming an equilateral triangle around the earth.

 

"It's like a harp in space. If the gravitational waves come, the 'harp's strings³" will be plucked," said Luo Jun, president of the Sun Yat-sen University and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, at a conference held recently in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province.

 

The detection will be based on high-precision laser interferometry technology to measure the changes of the distances and locations of the three satellites, according to Luo.

 

Gravitational waves are "ripples⁴" in the fabric⁵ of space-time caused by some of the most violent and energetic processes in the universe. Albert Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves in 1916 in his general theory of relativity.

 

The first-ever discovery of gravitational waves by the American Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory⁶ (LIGO), announced in February 2016, has encouraged scientists worldwide to accelerate their research.

点击收听单词发音