The New Wave in Physics, Astronomy and Technology

Gravitational waves are generated by accelerated masses, the charge of
gravity, and the propagating field can move other masses. Though there are
gravitational waves all around us, their amplitude is too small to be
detected, except in those rare situations involving stellar mass compact
objects like neutron stars or black holes moving very fast. Naturally,
such events happen very far from us at extra-galactic distances and
reliable detection then needs instruments that can measure relative
displacement smaller than a billionth of the atomic size. An optical
interferometer operated at the quantum noise limit turns out to be natural
choice, but needs several enhancements and precautions before it can
function as a gravitational wave detector. The advanced LIGO detectors are
such enhanced interferometers. Barely a week after they started calibrated
stable operation, a few month ago, relatively strong gravitational waves
from orbiting and merging binary black holes were detected, marking a
genuine and impressive beginning for gravitational wave astronomy. I will
discuss the physics of gravitational waves and the detectors, the  
enhancements that enabled the recent detection and some aspects of the
first source seen and heard by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration. The
event also inspired the cabinet approval for the LIGO-India project
proposed by the IndIGO Consortium for an identical  detector  in India, to
be built in collaboration with the US LIGO laboratories and operated as
part of the gravitational wave detectors network of the next decade.