Bengaluru :

When the LIGO team discovered gravitational waves for the first time in 2015, it didn’t just prove Albert Einstein’s theories right, but also an important concept proposed by city-based scientist CV Vishveshwara, a black holes expert, who died in January 2017.

The team publicly acknowledged his contributions, although Vishvewshwara was never directly part of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). It was his work in 1968-1970 that provided fundamental insights into the nature of black holes, which became instrumental in LIGO’s findings.

He used the equations of Einstein’s theory of general relativity to carry out meticulous calculations and analyse the structure of black holes. He went on to prove the stability of black holes that assured their continued existence in nature once they were formed.

Forty-eight years after he published histheory and a year after hisdeath,Prof Nils Andersson of the University of Southampton has dedicated a book, A Gentle Wizard, to Vishveshwara. While Andersson’s dedication has been lauded by the scientific community, the scientist himself had spent most his life away from the limelight.

The India launch of the book, which discussesEinstein’s viewsof theuniverse, starting with 1905 and ending with the recentdiscovery of gravitationalwaves from colliding black holes, was in Bengaluru on Thursday. The International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS), which organised the launch, plans to distribute free copies to interested students and researchers.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Bangalore News / TNN  / May 26th, 2018