gravitational radiation

noun

: a series of gravitational waves

also : the generation of such waves (as by a celestial object)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Merging black holes, spiraling white dwarfs, and spinning neutron stars all emit gravitational radiation. —Korey Haynes, Discover Magazine, 11 Feb. 2016

Damour and his fellow researchers helped develop a theory describing the orbital motion and gravitational radiation as a result of two merging black holes, which played an important role in the direct detection of gravitational waves in 2016. —Dhananjay Khadilkar, Ars Technica, 18 July 2022

In the last few years, however, gravitational wave astronomy has made great strides in detecting gravitational radiation rippling through spacetime at the speed of light. —Bruce Dorminey, Forbes, 10 Nov. 2021

Einstein first predicted that any accelerating mass should emit gravitational radiation in the form of waves. —Bruce Dorminey, Forbes, 10 Nov. 2021

This is also the speed that any form of pure radiation, such as gravitational radiation, must travel at, and also the speed, under the laws of relativity, that any massless particle must travel at. —Ethan Siegel, Forbes, 12 May 2021

The infall of normal matter, dark matter, neutrinos, and even regular (electromagnetic) radiation vastly outstrips the energy gain from incoming gravitational radiation. —Ethan Siegel, Forbes, 18 June 2021

The quantum counterpart of gravitational radiation, the (spin=2) graviton, is only theorized; it has never been measured or detected directly. —Ethan Siegel, Forbes, 18 June 2021

And there’s the energy in gravitational waves, a form of gravitational radiation that carries energy away from a system. —Ethan Siegel, Forbes, 5 May 2021

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Word History

First Known Use

1938, in the meaning defined above