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Ligo, Journal, Servers: Behind The Scenes

"Inside Higher Ed" has published an interesting article
Riding the Wave
about some not-quite-visible events that took house earlier the basis officially learned nigh the uncovering of the gravitational waves. Much of it must live a tedious materials – inward like large collaborations, at that spot is a commission that decides nigh every of import plenty event.




On September 9th, the LIGO folks were already convinced that they would notice the waves soon. Some of them were thinking what they would purchase for the Nobel prize as well as all of them had to brand an online vote nigh the mag where the uncovering should live published.




It has to live Physical Review Letters because PRL (published yesteryear the APS) is the best mag for the Nobel-prize-caliber papers, the LIGO members decided. Five days later, Advanced LIGO made the discovery. Four to a greater extent than days later, equally y'all know, they officially started Advanced LIGO. ;-)

Robert Garisto, a PRL boss, was happy that his mag was chosen but it wasn't actually surprising. The newspaper arrived on Jan 21st, the reviews were sent dorsum vi days later, as well as four days later, LIGO resubmitted.

To cover that something large is taking place, Garisto's employees had to purpose the term "Big Paper" for the large newspaper – patently a clever method that guarantees that no ane notices that it is a large paper.

Someone at PRL was hired to press the "publish" push inward the mag at a specific signal of the press conference as well as then that they're synchronized. The extended PRL servers were cook to sustain a higher traffic but nether 200 requests per 2d that lasted for a few minutes after 10:30 am local time, they collapsed, anyway.

Many members of LIGO are proud nigh having taken the PRL servers down.

By the way, LIGO merely informed us that the House Science Committee has invited the bosses of LIGO to testify inward the U.S. Congress.

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