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LISA vs LIGO 2D: Space-Scale Baseline

2D companion: compare a LIGO-scale ground interferometer against a LISA-scale space triangle on a flat schematic canvas, and see why baseline length sets which gravitational-wave frequencies each detector can reach.

Space & Astronomy2DAdvanced60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 3D version

This 2D companion keeps the same strain-versus-noise-floor model as the 3D version but drops the orbiting scene for a flat schematic view: an L-shaped ground interferometer and a triangular space constellation sit side by side, each stretching and squeezing in sync with the same simulated gravitational wave. A live log-log sensitivity chart plots each detector's noise floor against the source's strain signal, so raising the frequency slider from the LISA band up into the LIGO band visibly crosses the point where the ground detector's line dips below its own noise and the space triangle's does not — the same baseline-length argument, read straight off a chart instead of a 3D scene.

⚙ Under the hood

2D schematic pairing a LIGO-scale ground interferometer and a LISA-scale space triangle against the same simulated gravitational wave, with a live sensitivity chart showing why arm length sets each detector's usable frequency band.

gravitational wavesLISALIGOlaser interferometryspace telescopebaseline length

2D · HTML5 Canvas 2D · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install