GEO 600

GEO 600 is a laser interferometer in Hanover, Germany. This interferometer has 600-m long arms enclosed in 60-cm diameter vacuum pipes.

Aerial view of the GEO 600 facility.
Image courtesy of GEO 600 collaboration.

GEO is a British-German project that began running in 2002. Scientists there collaborate with people from interferometer experiments around the world including LIGO, VIRGO (Japan/Italy), and TAMA (Japan). Although GEO 600 is smaller than LIGO, its design is pioneering advanced technology that increases its sensitivity. Some of these advances will be implemented in LIGO during an upgrade in 2007.

For more information, visit the GEO 600 website.

Participating Institutions: Universität Hanover, University of Glasgow, Cardiff University, Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik