Re: Sol-like system discovered...SETI new directions?

From: ABlainey@aol.com
Date: Fri Jul 11 2003 - 18:16:53 MDT

  • Next message: ABlainey@aol.com: "Re: Sol-like system discovered...SETI new directions?"

    In a message dated 11/07/2003 04:30:18 GMT Daylight Time,
    bradbury@aeiveos.com writes:

    > On Thu, 10 Jul 2003 ABlainey@aol.com wrote:
    >
    > > This is also my view , that gravity being instantanious gives an
    > unbeatable
    > > method of information transfer. That is of course depending on the
    > propgation
    > > speed. Everything I have read thus far states that the propogation is
    > > istantanious.
    >
    > Hmmmmm.... A google on "speed of gravity waves" yields:
    >
    > http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/980905b.html
    > http://physics.about.com/library/weekly/aa011503a.htm
    > http://www.nature.com/nsu/030106/030106-8.html
    >
    > to which there appears to be an upstart challenge:
    >
    > http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/Phys-speed-of-gravity.html
    >
    > So I would say that the balance of the conventional wisdom
    > is that gravity propagates at the speed-of-light.
    >
    > It is also true that to get gravity waves one has to manipulate *very*
    > large masses. That is *very* expensive relative to the manipulation
    > of photons (which effectively have very low masses [based on E = mc^2]).
    >
    > Robert
    >
    >
    >

     For aguments sake I would have to stand on the 'gravity propogates at the
    speed of light' side of the fence. Mainly due to the fact that it is popular
    opinion and I generally don't seek to bash the ideas of people such as Einstien.
    I do have some difficulties with this though. Thus far, Gravity waves have
    never been measured and we have made many assumptions based upon the observable
    effects of this unseen force. So I will stick with the status quo and keep an
    eye out for any new discoveries.
    It really is a subject that I would love to understand fully, but I agree
    that the scale of the experiments we need to undertake in order to understand
    Gravity. Would make our understanding of its true nature out of our reach for
    quite some time.

    Alex



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