The Most Powerful Gamma Ray Burst Just Corroborated General Relativity Once Again

[Judi Lynn]

Artist's impression of GRB 190114C. (NASA, ESA, and M. Kornmesser)
PHYSICS

MICHELLE STARR JULY 2020

Last year, scientists detected the most energetic gamma ray burst we've ever seen. A distant galaxy spat out a colossal flare in the range of a trillion electron volts (TeV), providing invaluable new insight into the physics of these incredibly energetic events.

That was pretty amazing on its own - but now astrophysicists have used the burst to perform a new, precise test of the theory of general relativity. And - quelle surprise! - this test found that the speed of light is constant in a vacuum.

Relativity, once again, has passed with flying colours.

The test hinges on a fundamental principle of special relativity called Lorentz invariance. It expresses that, no matter where you are in the Universe, the laws of physics - including the speed of light in a vacuum - remain the same.

More:
https://www.sciencealert.com/the-most-powerful-gamma-ray-burst-has-once-again-corroborated-general-relativity

[Rollo]

1. Cool beans

But does it explain what came before the big bang and where it all is headed?