BOCA RATON — Clearly, general-covariant evolution formalisms and
the other topics discussed in a darkened room Friday at Florida
Atlantic University aren't for everyone. But their point is
universal. About 50 physicists, astrophysicists and
mathematicians converged at FAU this week from as far as Japan
to explore the scientifically hot topic of gravitational waves.
Scientists describe the waves -- quite soberly -- as ripples in
the weave of space and time. They stem from supernovas and other
dramatic events in deep space, eventually reaching the earth in
imperceptibly faint form. Or at least we think they do. Einstein
identified them in theory in 1915. But recent advances in
observational methods and computational muscle offer the
prospect of actually proving the waves' existence and measuring
their movement. That, says FAU physics chief Warner Miller,
would open "a whole new window on the universe." Now, scientists
sketch the cosmos with a variety of electromagnetic tools,
including light, radio waves and X-