3 ms·

Space is like a fabric, it's a literal compression and stretching of space as the wave propagates through it. The distances physically get shorter and longer as

Space is like a fabric, it's a literal compression and stretching of space as the wave propagates through it. The distances physically get shorter and longer as the wave passes by. It doesn't necessarily mean that spacetime cannot be fundamental, as there's no rule that says that space itself must emerge from some sort of underlying medium (eg the way fabric is made of threads).

beders 3y ago
What is stretching/compressing it? Spacetime is warped by mass but no mass is transmitted. So what exactly is being carried along?
- pseudosudoer 3y ago
  You're essentially asking the same question after it's been answered. Space-time is the carrier that acts like a fabric, and some large cosmological mass is distorting that fabric. The distortion of the fabric of space-time ripples throughout the entire universe at the speed of light, and spreads it's effect proportional to the inverse square related to distance.
- Sharlin 3y ago
  The surface of water is warped by a rock thrown into a pond, but no rock is transmitted by the waves. The electromagnetic field is disturbed by accelerating charges but no charges are transmitted by the EM waves. In any case, mass is not the only thing that warps spacetime. The components of the stress–energy tensor [1] include energy (which includes mass) density, energy flux, momentum density, and momentum flux, the latter of which is composed of pressure and shear stress components. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress%E2%80%93energy_tensor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress%E2%80%93energy_tensor
- dotnet00 3y ago
  Are you perhaps mis-applying how we say that photons carry the electromagnetic force? If so, for now we believe that gravity is simply the result of the warping of spacetime, with no known carrying particle. That's kind of the hurdle between uniting gravity with the quantum world. If say, it turns out that there is such a thing as a graviton - which carries gravity, then gravitational waves would be a bunch of gravitons.

beders 3y ago

What is stretching/compressing it? Spacetime is warped by mass but no mass is transmitted. So what exactly is being carried along?

pseudosudoer 3y ago
You're essentially asking the same question after it's been answered. Space-time is the carrier that acts like a fabric, and some large cosmological mass is distorting that fabric. The distortion of the fabric of space-time ripples throughout the entire universe at the speed of light, and spreads it's effect proportional to the inverse square related to distance.
Sharlin 3y ago
The surface of water is warped by a rock thrown into a pond, but no rock is transmitted by the waves. The electromagnetic field is disturbed by accelerating charges but no charges are transmitted by the EM waves. In any case, mass is not the only thing that warps spacetime. The components of the stress–energy tensor [1] include energy (which includes mass) density, energy flux, momentum density, and momentum flux, the latter of which is composed of pressure and shear stress components. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress%E2%80%93energy_tensor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress%E2%80%93energy_tensor
dotnet00 3y ago
Are you perhaps mis-applying how we say that photons carry the electromagnetic force? If so, for now we believe that gravity is simply the result of the warping of spacetime, with no known carrying particle. That's kind of the hurdle between uniting gravity with the quantum world. If say, it turns out that there is such a thing as a graviton - which carries gravity, then gravitational waves would be a bunch of gravitons.