1208.2293 (M. B. Paranjape)
M. B. Paranjape
We propose a simple laboratory experiment to measure the speed of propagation of gravitational phenomena. We consider two masses placed at two different distances from a detector of gravitational force. They are placed so that the static gravitational force they produce at the detector exactly cancels. We show that if the masses are made to oscillate, then the force on the detector no longer vanishes and is proportional to the relative time delay it takes for the propagation of the gravitational changes from the masses to the detector. This time delay is inversely proportional to the speed of gravity. A measurement of the finiteness of this speed would be the first confirmation of one dynamical aspect of Einstein's theory of general relativity, that gravitational effects are not instantaneous and propagate at a finite velocity and a direct confirmation of the fundamental notion that there is no action at a distance. It is fully expected that the speed of gravity is equal to the speed of light.
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http://arxiv.org/abs/1208.2293
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