Summary
VIRGO, a joint project of eleven French and Italian laboratories, is an experimental project in basic physics whose goal is to detect, study, and observe gravitational wave signals. As these waves propagate they curve space-time, but the modification of distance they create is so tiny that it has been impossible to observe until now. VIRGO responds to this challenge by constructing a giant interferometer three kilometers long. The detection of gravitational wave signals offers a new window through which to observe the universe, enabling the observation of very massive objects and very violent phenomena.
