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Old 17-03-2014, 06:34 AM
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sjastro
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xelasnave View Post
Hi everyone
I often feel like Robert I confess.
But I see what Steven suggests. One must present a possitive outlook on your projects chance of coming off with a big payoff. A gravity wave is ripple in space time I think does it mean the gravity constant changes as the wave passes. Any ideas as to what is happening at a quantum level a serge of gravitons for example.
Alex
Alex,

Generally the properties of space time are static and time constant. The curvature of space time for example will not change. However GR predicts that changes in space time will create gravitational waves.
Examples when space time is non static are the gravitational collapse of non spherical bodies or the decaying orbit of two massive bodies orbiting around a barycentre.

Primordial gravitational waves are somewhat different. They are believed to be a direct consequence of inflation. Inflation is caused by the transition of the Universe from a higher to lower vacuum state. Scientists found that vacuum fluctuations during inflation would result in space time being non static.
Hence the search for primordial gravitational waves becomes a test for inflation.

This is a rare example where GR and Quantum field theory work in "harmony".

Regards

Steven

Last edited by sjastro; 17-03-2014 at 08:02 AM.
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