Gravitational Wave Physics
نویسنده
چکیده
Gravitational waves are propagating fluctuations of gravitational fields, that is, ”ripples” in spacetime, generated mainly by moving massive bodies. These distortions of spacetime travel with the speed of light. Every body in the path of such a wave feels a tidal gravitational force that acts perpendicular to the waves direction of propagation; these forces change the distance between points, and the size of the changes is proportional to the distance between the points. Gravitational waves can be detected by devices which measure the induced length changes. The frequencies and the amplitudes of the waves are related to the motion of the masses involved. Thus, the analysis of gravitational waveforms allows us to learn about their source and, if there are more than two detectors involved in observation, to estimate the distance and position of their source on the sky. ∗Article for the Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology, 3rd Edition, Volume 7 Academic Press, (2002)
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