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Gravity wave

Gravity waves are generated in a fluid (e.g. the atmosphere), when a fluid parcel is displaced (e.g. by convection) to a region with a different density. If the fluid stratification is stable, the parcel will start to oscillate around the point where there is no net force. Since the fluid is a continuous medium, a traveling disturbance will result.
Gravity wave also refers to a completely different phenomenon also known as gravitational radiation.

According to general relativity, gravity can cause oscillations [or waves] in spacetime which can transmit energy. Scientists are eager to find a way to detect these gravitational waves, since they could help reveal information about the very structure of the universe. This theory ignores an essential difference between gravitational and electric forces: the latter can act statically only over short distances due to the shielding by opposite charges, whereas the gravitational force has an infinite range. In contrast to electromagnetic radiation, there is no reason what difference the presence of gravitational radiation would make for the workings of the universe.





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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Gravity wave".