Shocked removed spikes, used blue tack, what other non spike footer

For an instrument that needs to remain as still as possible, it is ironic that LIGO is so sensitive that it can feel the smallest vibrations from near and far. LIGO is essentially a giant seismometer capable of sensing vibrations from traffic on nearby roads, weather patterns on the other side of the continent, staff biking alongside detector arms, ocean waves crashing on shores hundreds of miles away, and of course nearly every significant earthquake on the planet. Since gravitational waves will make themselves known through vibrations in LIGO’s mirrors, the only way to make gravitational wave detection possible is to isolate LIGO’s components from environmental vibrations to unprecedented levels. The change in distance between LIGO’s mirrors (test masses) when a gravitational wave passes will be on the order of 10-19 m. To achieve this level of sensitivity, LIGO was constructed with multiple levels of active and passive vibration isolation systems. Many of LIGO’s larger infrastructure systems that provide some additional levels of isolation are discussed in previous sections. But LIGO’s most sensitive components (its optics) required even more complex and highly specialized mechanisms for isolating them from even the smallest imaginable vibrations.

Outside of its pre-stabilized laser, LIGO’s vibration isolation systems are comprised of two basic elements: Optics Suspensions and Seismic Isolation.

Geoff,

Too bad on the LIGO thing, bet that one hurts since you have used that analogy on so many people over the past couple years.

I still can’t get my head around what LIGO has to do with music reproduction?

Maybe if they were to increase the mechanical grounding mechanism and improve the speed of resonance flow to earth, the isolation portion of the experiment might improve? 

I wish funding kept coming from outside sources when our experiments fail; that's what I call leading the good life - yes?

Almost all competent isolation devices and systems use springs in some form or another so the only reason I can think of why someone would disparage cryogenically treated springs is out of desperation and/or ignorance of physics and strength of materials.

Geoff, you misunderstood my statement (again). I was attempting to make a point where a spring that is cryo’d provides an increase in performance but will not hold a candle in sonic when compared to a product costing in the thousands of dollars. And just so you are aware, we have a lot of experience using cryogenics as well.

We notice you use of the word “desperation or as an act of desperation” is stated often when put on the defense but I’m guessing we’ll call this one a simple misunderstanding.

R