This soup bowl was designed to celebrate the discovery of these ripples in space-time.
Gravitational waves are ripples in space- time caused by massive objects moving through space. They were first detected in 2015 by scientists at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO). The LIGO project is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and operates facilities in Washington State and Louisiana.
This bowl was created by artist and designer Kari Hultgren. She wanted to create something that would bring joy to everyone who sees it. It’s also a fun conversation piece for anyone interested in science or astronomy.
Kari says, “I think this bowl has a lot of potential as a conversation starter about how we can all share our love of science with others.”
The spiral pattern represents the waveform of gravitational waves. Gravitational waves travel through space and distort the fabric of spacetime. In this case, the waves have been shown on top of a black background because they represent movement in one direction.
The blue color represents the amplitude of the waves while the red represents the frequency.
The design includes an engraving of the LIGO logo so you know where the waves came from.