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  • Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space

  • By: Janna Levin
  • Narrated by: Janna Levin
  • Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (31 ratings)
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Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space cover art

Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space

By: Janna Levin
Narrated by: Janna Levin
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Summary

The authoritative story of the headline-making discovery of gravitational waves - by an eminent theoretical astrophysicist and award-winning writer. 

From the author of How the Universe Got Its Spots and A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines, the epic story of the scientific campaign to record the soundtrack of our universe. 

Black holes are dark. That is their essence. When black holes collide, they will do so unilluminated. Yet the black hole collision is an event more powerful than any since the origin of the universe. The profusion of energy will emanate as waves in the shape of space-time: gravitational waves. No telescope will ever record the event; instead, the only evidence would be the sound of space-time ringing. 

In 1916, Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves, his top priority after he proposed his theory of curved space-time. One century later, we are recording the first sounds from space, the soundtrack to accompany astronomy’s silent movie. In Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space, Janna Levin recounts the fascinating story of the obsessions, the aspirations, and the trials of the scientists who embarked on an arduous 50-year endeavor to capture these elusive waves. 

An experimental ambition that began as an amusing thought experiment, a mad idea, became the object of fixation for the original architects - Rai Weiss, Kip Thorne, and Ron Drever. Striving to make the ambition a reality, the original three gradually accumulated an international team of hundreds. As this audiobook was written, two massive instruments of remarkably delicate sensitivity were brought to advanced capability. As the audiobook draws to a close, five decades after the experimental ambition began, the team races to intercept a wisp of a sound with two colossal machines, hoping to succeed in time for the centenary of Einstein’s most radical idea. 

Janna Levin’s absorbing account of the surprises, disappointments, achievements, and risks in this unfolding story offers a portrait of modern science that is unlike anything we’ve seen before. 

©2016 Janna Levin (P)2016 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"This is a beautifully written account of the quest to open the 'gravitational-wave window' onto our universe, and use it to explore our universe's warped side: black holes and other phenomena made from warped spacetime. As a participant in this wonderful quest, I applaud Janna Levin for capturing so well our vision, our struggles, and the ethos and spirit of our torturous route toward success." (Kip Thorne, author of The Science of Interstellar)

What listeners say about Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space

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expecting something else completely

It is the story of ligo. hoped there was some explanations about black holes but it is all about science egos and politics for LIGO construction

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Well told stories of experimental pursuits

easy on the ears, facts with the flow of storytelling, and a peek into the "old boys club" of physics

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