| Abstract: | The new generation of gravitational wave detectors (LIGO in the U.S. and Virgo in Europe) has now succeeded in receiving signals from coalescing binaries made of black holes and of neutron stars. This talk will begin with a review of the physical nature of gravitational waves, the principles of operation of interferometric detectors, and the extreme measurement challenges that have been overcome. The talk will conclude with a discussion of the signals that have been found so far and of the prospects for future observations. |