--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we initially proposed LIGO, the only…" description: "\"When we initially proposed LIGO, the only sources that we were really contemplating were supernovae. We thought we would see something like one a year,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/427/rainer-weiss-11997_maybe_when-we-initially-proposed-ligo-the-only_1231197.jpg" --- # When we initially proposed LIGO, the only sources that we… ![“When we initially proposed LIGO, the only sources that we were really contemplating were supernovae. We thought we would see something like one a year, maybe even ten a year.” quote by Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/427/rainer-weiss-11997_maybe_when-we-initially-proposed-ligo-the-only_1231197.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/427/rainer-weiss-11997_maybe_when-we-initially-proposed-ligo-the-only_1231197.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/427/rainer-weiss-11997_maybe_when-we-initially-proposed-ligo-the-only_1231197.jpg) > “When we initially proposed LIGO, the only sources that we were really contemplating were supernovae. We thought we would see something like one a year, maybe even ten a year.” [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early expectations for gravitational‑wave detection were modest, focused on rare supernova events. **In simple terms:** We thought we'd see few events per year. Key Takeaway Prepare for surprising discoveries. Themes science expectation technology Mood anticipatory optimistic Type historical technical When to use this quote - research planning - funding proposals - public outreach - collaborative experiments Key Concepts gravitational waves astrophysics instrumentation Questions to Reflect On - How did broader source types change LIGO's impact? - What assumptions limit scientific forecasts? A Different Perspective Reality exceeded predictions, revealing many more sources than anticipated. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [Stars that become supernovae start off at least eight times heavier than our sun. 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I look at last year and my whole goal is to be a better player…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-williams/i-never-really-look-at-it-past-one-year-i-look-at-last-year-and-my/) [Trent Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-williams/) > [If you look at the charts every year, there may be five or ten memorable songs from each year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-jackson/if-you-look-at-the-charts-every-year-there-may-be-five-or-ten/) [Randy Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-jackson/) > [We were so poor as kids. I didn't even see a bathtub, running water, hot water, commode - we didn't have any of that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robertson/we-were-so-poor-as-kids-i-didn-t-even-see-a-bathtub-running-water-hot/) [Phil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-robertson/) > [There was a time in the 1980s when I worked in 22 films a year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radha-ravi/there-was-a-time-in-the-1980s-when-i-worked-in-22-films-a-year/) [Radha Ravi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radha-ravi/) ## More by Rainer Weiss > [Gravitational waves, because they are so imperturbable - they go through everything - they will tell you the most information you can get about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/gravitational-waves-because-they-are-so-imperturbable-they-go-through/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [The waves travel with the velocity of light and slightly squeeze and stretch space transverse to the direction of their motion. The first waves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/the-waves-travel-with-the-velocity-of-light-and-slightly-squeeze-and/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [Experimentally, we now have demonstrated that Einstein's theory is right in strong gravitational fields. That's important to a lot of people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/experimentally-we-now-have-demonstrated-that-einstein-s-theory-is/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [You think Earth's gravity is really something when you're climbing the stairs. But, as far as physics goes, it is a pipsqueak, infinitesimal, tiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/you-think-earth-s-gravity-is-really-something-when-you-re-climbing/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [We've seen black holes, which is already wonderful. We also expect to see the merger of neutron stars, and that was a thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/we-ve-seen-black-holes-which-is-already-wonderful-we-also-expect-to/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [We know about black holes and neutron stars, but we hope there are other phenomena we can see because of the gravitational waves they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/we-know-about-black-holes-and-neutron-stars-but-we-hope-there-are/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [We were looking almost one-tenth of the way to the edge of the universe. We're planning to use the facilities we have to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/we-were-looking-almost-one-tenth-of-the-way-to-the-edge-of-the/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [It's very, very exciting that it worked out in the end that we are actually detecting things and actually adding to the knowledge, through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/it-s-very-very-exciting-that-it-worked-out-in-the-end-that-we-are/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [For reasons probably related to the popular vision of Albert Einstein and, also, the threat posed by black holes in comic books and science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/for-reasons-probably-related-to-the-popular-vision-of-albert-einstein/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [The whole idea of gravity curling up space, that is the epitome of what is going on in a black hole. I would've loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/the-whole-idea-of-gravity-curling-up-space-that-is-the-epitome-of/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [The obvious thing to me was, let's take freely floating masses in space and measure the time it takes light to travel between them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/the-obvious-thing-to-me-was-let-s-take-freely-floating-masses-in/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [All at once, funding was gone due to the Mansfield Amendment, which was a reaction to the Vietnam War. In the minds of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/all-at-once-funding-was-gone-due-to-the-mansfield-amendment-which-was/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [The whole world tried to reproduce the Weber experiments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/the-whole-world-tried-to-reproduce-the-weber-experiments/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [My father was a dictator in the true German sense. He suppressed my mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/my-father-was-a-dictator-in-the-true-german-sense-he-suppressed-my/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [By the time we made the discovery in 2015, the National Science Foundation had put close to $1.1 billion into it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/by-the-time-we-made-the-discovery-in-2015-the-national-science/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) [Explore all 57 Rainer Weiss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) ## More Maybe quotes > [Sometimes in midfield, it's nice because you do get a little bit more of the ball, and maybe out wide you rely on people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-oxlade-chamberlain/sometimes-in-midfield-it-s-nice-because-you-do-get-a-little-bit-more/) [Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-oxlade-chamberlain/) > [“I am disappearing, maybe I'm already gone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-niven/i-am-disappearing-maybe-i-m-already-gone/) [Jennifer Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-niven/) > [Cara Delevingne and I took an eyebrow selfie. We both have prominent eyebrows, but hers are much better than mine. Maybe we should do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-poulter/cara-delevingne-and-i-took-an-eyebrow-selfie-we-both-have-prominent/) [Will Poulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-poulter/) > [I don't think you should ever say, 'This is the last time'. Music isn't like that. You'll be sitting there not wishing to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-daltrey/i-don-t-think-you-should-ever-say-this-is-the-last-time-music-isn-t/) [Roger Daltrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-daltrey/) > [You are the best person I've met in years, and if I'd met you in a year's time, or maybe even a few months,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-green/you-are-the-best-person-i-ve-met-in-years-and-if-i-d-met-you-in-a/) [Jane Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-green/) > [I really think there's no difference between an art piece made by a man and one made by a woman. Is it a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/i-really-think-there-s-no-difference-between-an-art-piece-made-by-a/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [My wife and kids maybe beg to differ, but I am generally a good guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-macchio/my-wife-and-kids-maybe-beg-to-differ-but-i-am-generally-a-good-guy/) [Ralph Macchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-macchio/) > [Time travel offends our sense of cause and effect - but maybe the universe doesn't insist on cause and effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-m-lerner/time-travel-offends-our-sense-of-cause-and-effect-but-maybe-the/) [Edward M. Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-m-lerner/) > [Maybe there's some kind of modeling that can be tedious, like catalogue modeling, but there's a kind of modeling, with runways or working with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-rossellini/maybe-there-s-some-kind-of-modeling-that-can-be-tedious-like/) [Isabella Rossellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-rossellini/) > [There can be a wrong time - it's happened to countless bands where they release their first record on a major label and never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-fallon/there-can-be-a-wrong-time-it-s-happened-to-countless-bands-where-they/) [Brian Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-fallon/) > [Maybe you could be mine / or maybe we'll be entwined / aimless in this sexless foreplay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-c-scott/maybe-you-could-be-mine-or-maybe-we-ll-be-entwined-aimless-in-this/) [Jess C Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-c-scott/) > [Sometimes you climb the mountain, and you fall and fail. Maybe there is a different path that will take you up. Sometimes a different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caterina-fake/sometimes-you-climb-the-mountain-and-you-fall-and-fail-maybe-there-is/) [Caterina Fake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-fake/) > [Maybe Park had paralyzed her with his ninja magic, his Vulcan handhold, and now he was going to eat her. That would be awesome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/maybe-park-had-paralyzed-her-with-his-ninja-magic-his-vulcan-handhold/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [Maybe I could be friends with a ghost. I wouldn’t be able to kill him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/maybe-i-could-be-friends-with-a-ghost-i-wouldn-t-be-able-to-kill-him/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [“Can you miss someone you haven’t seen for longer than you knew them? Maybe we rue the time not the person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-rothschild/can-you-miss-someone-you-haven-t-seen-for-longer-than-you-knew-them/) Hannah Rothschild Browse all 4,673 Maybe quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When we initially proposed LIGO, the only sources that we were really contemplating were supernovae. 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