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# One of LIGO’s test masses

## Appears In

                        - Calibrating the Universe: Behind the Scenes, NIST Scientists Play a Critical Role in Improving Gravitational Wave Measurements

One of LIGO’s test masses, a 40-kilogram mirror that reflects laser beams along the length of one of the two detector arms. A tiny displacement of the mass—much less than the diameter of a single proton—could signal the passage of a gravitational wave.

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