I think it was inevitable that the detection of gravitational waves would win a Nobel prize. There may have been issues in who to award it to as I believe it can be shared by up to three people. It is an amazing feat. Einstein predicted these ripples in space time, but didn't think we would be able to detect them. Even with the massive detectors that have been built (4km long) they are still looking for an effect that changes the length by something smaller than an atom. The LIGO detectors use mirrors to make the effective length over 1000km. Even a passing car could mask an incoming signal.
They are looking for signals from massive events where black holes collide and combine. Much of the mass is converted into energy that we can now detect. There events may have happened billions of years ago across the universe.
There are two detectors in the USA (LIGO) and a third in Italy (Virgo). They can combine the signals to get some idea of where the signal came from. That requires some clever science and some very accurate clocks.
Some science can be done by one person in a laboratory, but studies of the very large and very small seem to require massive projects and collaboration across countries. It's another reasons we need to think beyond national borders for the good of all.
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