Gravitational-field accelerations make waves {gravity wave}| {gravitational wave}. Gravitational waves make space-time curvature oscillate in two dimensions.
speed
Gravitational waves travel at light speed.
frequency
Gravitational-wave frequencies are about 1000 Hz.
medium
Gravitational waves oscillate gravitational-field surfaces. Gravity waves need no other medium.
quadrupoles
Gravity waves have two orthogonal linear-polarization states, at 45-degree angle, making field surfaces (not just lines). Gravity waves are quadrupole radiation. Because mass can only be positive (unlike electromagnetic positive and negative charges), no mass-dipole or gravitational-dipole radiation can exist.
At peaks, potential energy is maximum, and kinetic energy is minimum. As they pass, gravitational waves stretch and compress (vibrate) objects with mass.
spin
Gravitational waves can rotate. Primordial gravitational waves have different spin {polarization, gravity} than current ones.
graviton
Gravitational-force exchange particles are gravitons and have no mass. Gravitons have spin 2, which is invariant under 180-degree rotation around motion direction.
sources
Gravity waves come from oscillating and/or accelerating masses, such as pulsating stars, irregularly rotating stars, collapsing stars, exploding stars, or interacting star clusters.
superposition
Because masses are always positive, gravitational fields cannot cancel each other. However, locally, accelerations and/or decelerations can cancel gravitational fields. Because gravitational waves are non-local and have components in more than one direction, and accelerations are in only one direction, accelerations and/or decelerations cannot cancel gravitational waves.
comparison with electromagnetic waves
Gravitational fields have advanced and retarded solutions and their equations are similar to those for electromagnetic waves.
renormalization
Gravitational waves are infinite and require renormalization for gravitational-wave calculations.
Physical Sciences>Physics>Relativity>General Relativity>Gravity
5-Physics-Relativity-General Relativity-Gravity
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Date Modified: 2022.0224