Weber bars might not be lame after all.

LIGO should take note: it could be that a supernova explosion that isn't quite spherically symmetric amplifies gravitational waves amplitude by a factor of 10,000; making it possible to detect them using a much less sophisticated (and less expensive) equipment.   Something to remember the next time you feel tempted laugh at a guy with a Weber bar.


the physics arXiv blog » Blog Archive » Were gravitational waves first detected in 1987?

But get this: the assymetry can enhance the waves by a factor of 10^4.

He also points out that SN1987A is aspherical in exactly the way that might create this enhancement. So if SN1987A generated gravitational waves, Weber would have been perfectly able to detect them.

Qadir concludes: “The claim of Weber to have observed gravitational waves from [SN1987A] needs to be re-assessed”.

By all accounts, Weber was a careful experimenter who got something of a rough deal for his efforts