Saturday, May 12, 2007

Awesome Video of a gravity wave

Hi-res image of a wave cloud formation [NASA]



From wikipedia:

In physics, a gravitational wave is a fluctuation in the curvature of spacetime which propagates as a wave, traveling outward from a moving object or system of objects. Gravitational radiation is the energy transported by these waves. Important examples of systems which emit gravitational waves are binary star systems, where the two stars in the binary are white dwarfs, neutron stars, or black holes.

In Einstein's theory of general relativity, the force of gravity is due to curvature of spacetime. This curvature is caused by the presence of massive objects. Roughly speaking, the more massive the object is, the greater the curvature it causes, and hence the more intense the gravity. As massive objects move around in spacetime, the curvature will change. If the objects move around in the right way, ripples in spacetime can spread outward like ripples on the surface of a pond. These ripples are gravitational waves.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's not a gravity wave. Nowhere does NASA claim that. Read wikipedia or just google for 'gravity wave' to judge the plausibility of being able to see one. You'll see that we have only indirect evidence that there are such things, not bloody photographs.

M B said...

thanks for the heads up, i agree i did not read the caption properly. i edited the post accordingly (corrected the title of the image)

Anonymous said...

aonymous... i still find it fascinating.. take it easy there don't give urself a heart attack...
pffffff