Rainer Weiss facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rainer Weiss
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Weiss in June 2018
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| Born | September 29, 1932 |
| Education | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS, PhD) |
| Known for | Pioneering laser interferometric gravitational wave observation |
| Awards | Einstein Prize (2007) Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (2016) Gruber Prize in Cosmology (2016) Shaw Prize (2016) Kavli Prize (2016) Harvey Prize (2016) Princess of Asturias Award (2017) Nobel Prize in Physics (2017) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics Laser physics Experimental gravitation Cosmic background measurements |
| Institutions | Massachusetts Institute of Technology Princeton University Tufts University |
| Thesis | Stark Effect and Hyperfine Structure of Hydrogen Fluoride (1962) |
| Doctoral advisor | Jerrold R. Zacharias |
| Doctoral students | Nergis Mavalvala Philip K. Chapman Rana X. Adhikari |
| Other notable students | Bruce Allen Sarah Veatch |
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Rainer "Rai" Weiss (born September 29, 1932) is a famous American physicist. He was born in Germany. He is known for his important work in gravitational physics and astrophysics. Dr. Weiss is a professor at MIT. He also teaches at LSU.
He is best known for inventing a special laser technique. This technique is used in the LIGO project. LIGO helps scientists find gravitational waves. These are ripples in space and time. Dr. Weiss also led the science team for the COBE project. This project studied the early universe.
In 2017, Rainer Weiss won the Nobel Prize in Physics. He shared it with Kip Thorne and Barry Barish. They won for their big contributions to the LIGO detector. They also won for helping observe gravitational waves.
Dr. Weiss has helped create many difficult experiments. These experiments test basic physics ideas. He is part of the Fermilab Holometer experiment. This experiment uses a large laser tool. It measures tiny properties of space and time. It helps test ideas about quantum holographic fluctuations.
Early Life and Education
Rainer Weiss was born in Berlin, Germany. His father was a doctor and a scientist. His family had to leave Germany because of the Nazis. They were Jewish and his father was part of the Communist Party. His mother was an actress.
The family first moved to Prague. But when Germany took over Czechoslovakia, they had to flee again. A kind family in St. Louis helped them get visas. This allowed them to come to the United States. Rainer Weiss grew up in New York City. He went to Columbia Grammar School.
He later studied at MIT. He left school for a short time. But he returned and earned his bachelor's degree in 1955. He then got his Ph.D. in 1962. His teacher was Jerrold Zacharias.
After his studies, he taught at Tufts University. He also worked at Princeton University. In 1964, he joined the faculty at MIT.
Major Scientific Achievements
Rainer Weiss helped start two important areas of physics research. These are studying cosmic background radiation and observing gravitational waves. He helped these fields grow from new ideas to mature sciences.
In 1973, he made important measurements. He studied the light left over from the Big Bang. This light is called the cosmic microwave background radiation. He used a weather balloon to take these measurements. His work showed that this radiation was like a thermal glow. This proved it was leftover heat from the Big Bang.
Later, he helped create the NASA Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite. He was a co-founder and science advisor. COBE made detailed maps of this radiation. This helped us understand the early universe even better.
Dr. Weiss also came up with the idea of using lasers. These lasers would be used in a gravitational wave detector. He suggested that the detector would need very long arms. These arms would be kilometers long. He built a test version in the 1970s.
He also helped start the NSF LIGO project. LIGO is a huge experiment to detect gravitational waves. It was based on a report he wrote. Both of these projects combine difficult instrument science with physics. This physics helps us understand the Universe.
In February 2016, a big announcement was made. Dr. Weiss was one of the four scientists from the LIGO/Virgo team. They announced the first direct observation of gravitational waves. This happened in September 2015. It was a huge discovery!
Honors and Awards
Rainer Weiss has received many awards for his work.
- In 2006, he and the COBE team won the Gruber Prize in Cosmology. He shared it with John C. Mather.
- In 2007, he won the APS Einstein Prize. He shared it with Ronald Drever.
- In 2016 and 2017, he received many awards for detecting gravitational waves:
- The Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.
- The Gruber Prize in Cosmology.
- The Shaw Prize.
- The Kavli Prize in Astrophysics.
- The Harvey Prize (with Kip Thorne and Ronald Drever).
- The Smithsonian magazine's American Ingenuity Award. He won in the Physical Science category with Kip Thorne and Barry Barish.
- The Willis E. Lamb Award for Laser Science and Quantum Optics in 2017.
- The Princess of Asturias Award (2017) (with Kip Thorne and Barry Barish).
- The Nobel Prize in Physics (2017) (with Kip Thorne and Barry Barish).
- He became a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.
- In 2018, he won the American Astronomical Society's Joseph Weber Award for Astronomical Instrumentation. This was for inventing the gravitational-wave detector.
- In 2020, he was chosen as a Legacy Fellow of the American Astronomical Society.
See also
In Spanish: Rainer Weiss para niños
