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#Mon Aug 09 11:42:52 CEST 2010
Text__eS6QMKOaEd-WfYQ0GneCwQ_title=A measure of sensitivity
Text__eS6QMKOaEd-WfYQ0GneCwQ_text=Precisely because this signal is a result of all the different perturbations acting on the detector, it contains valuable information\: By examining it, the physicists can tell the current sensitivity of their detector.  As a tool, they use the diagram shown above.  It shows the magnitude of the perturbations at different frequencies.  For instance, the height of the curve above the point of the horizontal axis marked as 10<sup>2</sup> shows the magnitude of perturbations interfering with the detection of gravitational waves with a frequency of 100 Hertz.  Thus, the curve is a measure for the detector's sensitivity - the smaller the perturbations at a given frequency, the weaker the gravitational waves of that frequency that can still be detected.