A team of physicists announced Thursday that they have obtained direct evidence of gravitational waves, proving correct Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity. A recording of two black holes colliding some one billion light-years away apparently confirms the nature of black holes, which the pre-eminent physicist predicted a century ago. The announcement is the result of 50 years of trial and error. “We are all over the moon and back,” said Gabriela González, a spokeswoman for the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory. “Einstein would be very happy, I think.” Added Szabolcs Marka, a Columbia University professor and LIGO scientist: “I think this will be one of the major breakthroughs in physics for a long time."
