gravitational wave
/ˌɡɹæ.vəˈteɪ.ʃə.nəl weɪv/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.46 in modern English
27
Scrabble Score
17
Letters
5
Syllables
11
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A fluctuation in spacetime caused by accelerating mass, which propagates as a wave at the speed of light.
Example Sentences
- "It is therefore apparent that the existence of gravitational waves can be deduced from general relativity just as the existence of electromagnetic waves can be deduced from Maxwell's theory."
- "It might be anticipated that a pulsating star, such as a Cepheid is believed to be, would emit gravitational waves abundantly; but when the question is examined analytically, this expectation is not confirmed."
- "Fourth, there exists a strong competition on the side of purely astronomical means for indirect detection of gravitational waves."
- "A gravitational-wave detector exploits the physical effects of a gravitational wave on bodies to detect the waves. A gravitational wave detector may, for example, monitor the separation between two freely falling bodies; as a gravitational wave passes, the two bodies will experience a tidal acceleration relative to each other."
- "Physicists have announced the discovery of gravitational waves, ripples in spacetime first anticipated by Albert Einstein a century ago. “We have detected gravitational waves. We did it,” said David Reitze, executive director of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (Ligo), at a press conference in Washington."
- "Scientists have detected about 300 black hole mergers from the gravitational waves they generate. Until now, the most massive merger known produced a black hole about 140 times the mass of the sun."