Changes

:::''Gravitational waves are often incorrectly called "[[Gravity waves]]".  See that page for a discussion of this point.''

:::''Gravitational waves are often incorrectly called "[[Gravity waves]]".  See that page for a discussion of this point.''

'''Gravitational waves''' are theoretical distortions in space that travel at the [[speed of light]] away from a mass that accelerates.  Predicted by [[Albert Einstein]]'s [[Theory of Relativity]] in 1916 -- and thus challenges to them are disfavored by universities -- gravitational waves have never been directly observed but purportedly exist anyway.<ref>http://journals.aps.org/prl/pdf/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.061102</ref>

'''Gravitational waves''' are distortions in space that travel at the [[speed of light]] away from a mass that accelerates.  Predicted by [[Albert Einstein]]'s [[Theory of Relativity]] in 1916, they were first observed, and their existence confirmed, in early 2016. <ref>http://journals.aps.org/prl/pdf/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.061102</ref>

==Description==

==Description==

Gravitational waves are theoretical "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 relativity|General Theory of Relativity]], both objects emit gravitational waves while losing energy as they gradually approach, eventually resulting in a collision, and emitting a final, very strong burst of gravitational waves

Gravitational waves are "ripples", similar to the ripples made in a pond when a pebble is tossed in, but on a cosmological scale.  The masses in question are binary systems - pulsars, neutron stars, or black holes - which orbit around each other.  According to Einstein's [[General relativity|General Theory of Relativity]], both objects emit gravitational waves and lose energy as they gradually approach, eventually resulting in a collision, and emitting a final, very strong burst of gravitational waves

As part of his relativity theory, Einstein came up with his "quadrupole formula", which describes the rate of wave emissions 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

As part of his relativity theory, Einstein came up with his "quadrupole formula", which describes the rate of wave emissions 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