Gravitational waves may have made human life possible.
Originally published by David Appell , Phys.org on March 29, 2024 Artist's impression of neutron stars merging, producing gravitational waves and resulting in a kilonova. Credit: Mark Garlick, University of Warwick, from Wikipedia licensed under CC BY 4.0. Could it be that human existence depends on gravitational waves ? Some key elements in our biological makeup may come from astrophysical events that occur because gravitational waves exist, a research team headed by John R. Ellis of Kings College London suggests. In particular, iodine and bromine are found on Earth thanks to a particular nuclear process that happens when neutron stars collide . In turn, orbiting neutron star pairs in spiral and collide due to their emissions of energy in the form of gravitational waves . There may thus be a direct path from the existence of gravitational waves to the existence of mammals. Read more