gravitational wave

noun

|Updated on: 3 Aug 2018

Definition of gravitational wave

: a disturbance in space-time in the form of a wave that propagates the gravitational field

Gravitational waves are a natural offshoot of the rubber-sheet construction of general relativity. Just as a massive object sitting on the fabric of spacetime creates a dimple, so moving or changing objects, under certain conditions, create wrinkles in the fabric. Those wrinkles, tiny distortions in spacetime, zoom away at the speed of light. Because these gravitational waves carry energy, anything emitting them will lose a tiny bit of its speed.
—Science

Recent Examples of gravitational wave from the Web

Researchers compared the breakthrough to the 2017 detection of ripples in space time caused by colliding dead stars, which added gravitational waves to scientists' toolbox for observing the cosmos.

— sarah kaplan, chicagotribune.com, "In a cosmic first, scientists detect 'ghost particles' from a distant galaxy," 12 July 2018
The discovery heralds the next step in what scientists call multi-messenger astronomy, which probes the cosmos with telescopes working across different wavelengths and now with detectors of gravitational waves as well.

— robert lee hotz, WSJ, "Scientists Track Neutrinos Through Ice to Their Source in the Cosmos," 12 July 2018
Hailey notes that the find also has implications for scientists studying gravitational waves, the ripples in space-time created by powerful cosmic events, like when massive objects collide.

— National Geographic, "Thousands of Black Holes May Lurk at the Galaxy's Center," 4 Apr. 2018
In the past few years, gravitational waves have been detected for the first time: ripples in the fabric of space, coming from colliding black holes and neutron stars.

— john gribbin, WSJ, "‘The Ascent of Gravity’ and ‘On Gravity’ Review: From Falling Apples to Black Holes," 11 May 2018
These gravitational waves from the beginning of the universe could help physicists study the amount of energy thought to be associated with eternal inflation.

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Stephen Hawking's Final Theory of the Universe Has Been Published," 2 May 2018
Do the wave For starters, gravitational waves didn't emerge neatly from Einstein's work on them.

— john timmer, Ars Technica, "Gravitational waves and the slow pace of scientific revolutions," 30 June 2018
Related How did the gravitational wave finding change our understanding of black holes?

— denise chow /, NBC News, "Physicist Brian Greene on the three biggest science mysteries he'd like to see solved," 10 June 2018
Yes, there have been some remarkable findings, including the 2012 discovery of the Higgs Boson and the discovery of gravitational waves four years later.

— dan falk /, NBC News, "Why some scientists say physics has gone off the rails," 2 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gravitational wave.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.