How Squeezing Light Reduces Uncertainty in LIGO’s Measurements

Professor Lee McCuller, assistant professor of physics at Caltech, describes new cutting-edge technology, called frequency-dependent quantum squeezing, which boosts LIGO’s ability to make ultraprecise measurements. McCuller explains that squeezing light inside LIGO’s vacuum tubes can be compared to squeezing a balloon. If you squeeze one way, you can gain certainty in the phase of the light waves, but you will lose certainty in the amplitude and vice versa. Frequency-dependent quantum squeezing is analogous to squeezing the balloon in both ways and improves LIGO’s precision across the range of gravitational waves it detects. More info: More info: