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Gravitational waves (view source)

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''~~See also~~ [[~~Counterexamples to~~ Relativity]]''.

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'''Gravitational waves''' are distortions in space travel at the speed of light away from a mass that moves. Predicted by [[Albert Einstein]]'s [[Theory of Relativity]] in 1916, and at one time the subject of a hoax<ref>http://discovermagazine.com/2014/april/23-20-things-you-didnt-know-about-hoaxes</ref>, gravitational waves have never been observed until 2015, when the first evidence of their existence was confirmed<ref>http://journals.aps.org/prl/pdf/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.061102</ref>.

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~~'''Gravity~~ waves~~'''~~ are ~~predicted by~~ the [[Theory of Relativity]], ~~which claims that distortions~~ in ~~space travel~~ at the speed of light ~~away~~ from a mass ~~that moves~~.

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==Description==

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Gravitational waves are essentially "ripples", similar to the ripples made in a pond when a pebble is tossed in, but on a cosmological scale. The mass in question are binary systems - pulsars, neutron stars, or black holes - which orbit around each other. According to Einstein's General Theory of Relativity and his formula E=mc<sup>2</sup>, both objects emit gravitational waves while losing energy as they gradually approach, eventually resulting in a collision at one-half the speed of light, forming a single object as well as emitting a final, very strong burst of gravitational waves

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As part of his relativity theory, Einstein came up with his "quadrupole formula", which describes the rate of wave emmissions from a system of astronomical masses based on the change of the mass itself, what he called the "quadrupole moment". His formula as originally postulated was

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:<math> \bar{h}_{ij}(t,r) = \frac{2 G}{c^4 r} \ddot{I}_{ij}(t-r),</math>

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:<math> \bar{h}_{ij} =</math> gravitational wave, and <math>I_{ij} =</math> mass quadrupole moment.

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The results of his findings were published in 1916 as ''Näherungsweise Integration der Feldgleichungen der Gravitation'' (''"Approximate Integration of the Field Equations of Gravitation"''), but serious errors led him to a revision, published in 1918 as ''Über Gravitationswellen'' (''"About Gravitational Waves"'').

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~~Gravity waves have never been directly observed, and have even been the subject of a hoax:<ref>http://discovermagazine.com/2014/april/23-20-things-you-didnt-know-about-hoaxes</ref>~~

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{{cquote|In 2010 researchers from the [[LIGO|Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory]] detected the first direct evidence of gravitational waves — crucial proof of relativity. After thousands of hours of verification, they learned that the signal was a “blind injection,” an authorized prank by colleagues to check their work.}}

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In 2016, demands immediately rang out for a [[Nobel Prize]] to be awarded for an anomalous "chirp" detected in [[LIGO]].<ref> [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35524440] Gravitational waves from black holes detected, BBC</ref>

== See also ==

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*[[Counterexamples to Relativity]]

*[[Relativity]]

==References==

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*Einstein, Albert. "Näherungsweise Integration der Feldgleichungen der Gravitation"; ''Proceedings of the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences'' (1916), Berlin, Germany.

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*Einstein, Albert. "Über Gravitationswellen"; ''Proceedings of the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences'' (1918), Berlin, Germany.

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[[category:physics]]~~<nowiki></nowiki>~~

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[[category:physics]]

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