18
$\begingroup$

First thing I've been wondering is how the gravitational field is emitted. Matter emits gravitational waves, and I guess that those waves travel at around the speed of light. If that's not the case, please direct me to something that explains that.
For now I'll assume that this emits a waves that travels at the speed of light.

Now those waves are emitted constantly without the apparent need of energy. Just the mass being there is enough to emit those waves, and the mass itself isn't consumed by the emission of gravitational waves. Again that's my assumption, please tell me if I'm wrong.

Now if we would be able to modulate the mass of an object, we would be able to modulate the gravitational waves this object emits. Hence we would be able to transmit information through those waves, if of course we'd have a device that detects gravitational waves with enough sensitivity.

Those waves would be transmitted at no cost, because the waves are emitted by the mass. The only cost of this transmission would be the "mass modulator", which has yet to be invented and which would require energy. However the actual transmission doesn't require energy, and the gravitational waves are harmless, unlike the EM ones.

So here comes my question (as in the title): would it be possible somehow to use the gravitational waves to transmit information?

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
6
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ Your statement about the strength of the waves implies that we need an enormous event that creates a massive amount of gravitational waves to detect it. I would say that a very sensitive detector would be another solution :-) $\endgroup$
    – Benoit Duffez
    Nov 10, 2012 at 23:07
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ I guess I should mention that the LSF has recently made a significant discovery in this subject. $\endgroup$
    – Benoit Duffez
    Feb 14, 2016 at 9:49
  • $\begingroup$ yes, indeed it's now fact that waves are existing. Now, can you imagine a modulator that can use this kind of waves to send data? Mass amount of energy equal to creation of black hole, note that LSF is detected signal from merging 2! black holes. $\endgroup$
    – sigrlami
    Jul 8, 2016 at 18:17
  • $\begingroup$ yes, and I've already notified the FCC that I've laid claim to the entire gravitational wave spectrum. Muhahaha. $\endgroup$
    – Keith Knauber
    Jul 19, 2016 at 23:13
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ "mass modulator", which has yet to be invented Doesn't any accelerating mass create gravitational waves? Spin two masses around each other at 15000 RPM (=250 Hz, LIGO's lowest noise region) and leave it running for a very long time, and LIGO could pick it out with a very long FFT, like QRSS radio? :D $\endgroup$
    – endolith
    Oct 17, 2017 at 19:03

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
15
$\begingroup$

First it's important to note that gravitational waves do require energy to produce. A good example of this is a binary pulsar, where the emission of gravitational waves carries energy away so the two pulsars spiral in towards each other and will eventually merge.

Having said this, it is theoretically possible to modulate a gravitational wave and use it to transmit information. You don't need a mass modulator, you just need something with a changing quadropole moment - the simplest example of this is a spinning dumbbell, and indeed this is basically what the binary pulsar system is. If you can change the rotation frequency you can frequency modulate the gravitational wave.

However gravitational waves are exceedingly hard to generate in the sense that very little of the energy of your system is carried away as gravitational waves. It doesn't seem likely we'll ever use gravitational waves for transmitting information.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
3
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ OK, the spinning dumbbell is a great example! But it'd cost energy to make it spin and actually change its rotation speed. I see that those waves are really either low power or hard to detect with our current technology. My background is that I'm an engineer in a company that designs mobile phones, tablets and 3G dongles. I wondered if it would be even conceivable to create a transmission technology based off of gravitational waves. $\endgroup$
    – Benoit Duffez
    Nov 10, 2012 at 16:53
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ One thing I don't get in your answer is the fact that it does require energy to produce a gravitational wave. Imagine the moon-earth system. The moon "knows" the earth is here because of its gravitational field, and both are attracted to each other by the gravitational force. This force doesn't consume energy, does it? Inert matter emits a gravitational field without consuming anything, right? $\endgroup$
    – Benoit Duffez
    Nov 10, 2012 at 16:55
  • 9
    $\begingroup$ @Bicou: that's the difference between a static gravitational field and an oscillating one. Consider the analogy with radio waves. An electron produces a static electric field and this doesn't cost it any energy as long as the field remains static. But to transmit information you have to make the electron oscillate and that does take energy, which the radio waves carry away. Exactly the same applies to gravity. $\endgroup$
    – John Rennie
    Nov 11, 2012 at 7:33
8
$\begingroup$

The JASONs put together a reasonably extensive report on the use of high frequency gravitational waves for anything practical (including communication) in 2008. In the abstract they state that

the following are infeasible in the foreseeable future: detection of the natural “relic” HFGW, which are reliably predicted to exist; or detection of artificial sources of HFGW. No foreign threat in HFGW is credible, including: Communication by means of HFGW; Object detection or imaging (by HFGW radar or tomography); Vehicle propulsion by HFGW; or any other practical use of HFGW.

Here HFGW stands for high frequency gravitational waves, which includes the frequencies necessary for useful communication.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ High frequency gravitational wave generator patented by US Navy. $\endgroup$
    – Keith McClary
    Aug 6, 2019 at 20:36
0
$\begingroup$

There is another possibility for generating and detecting gravitational waves at microwave frequencies Something of a longshot though, but worth checking

Thin superconducting films are predicted to be highly reflective mirrors for gravitational waves at microwave frequencies. The quantum mechanical non-localizability of the negatively charged Cooper pairs, which is protected from the localizing effect of decoherence by an energy gap, causes the pairs to undergo non-picturable, non-geodesic motion in the presence of a gravitational wave. This non-geodesic motion, which is accelerated motion through space, leads to the existence of mass and charge supercurrents inside the superconducting film. On the other hand, the decoherence-induced localizability of the positively charged ions in the lattice causes them to undergo picturable, geodesic motion as they are carried along with space in the presence of the same gravitational wave. The resulting separation of charges leads to a virtual plasma excitation within the film that enormously enhances its interaction with the wave, relative to that of a neutral superfluid or any normal matter. The existence of strong mass supercurrents within a superconducting film in the presence of a gravitational wave, dubbed the "Heisenberg-Coulomb effect," implies the specular reflection of a gravitational microwave from a film whose thickness is much less than the London penetration depth of the material, in close analogy with the electromagnetic case. The argument is developed by allowing classical gravitational fields, which obey Maxwell-like equations, to interact with quantum matter, which is described using the BCS and Ginzburg-Landau theories of superconductivity, as well as a collisionless plasma model. Several possible experimental tests of these ideas, including mesoscopic ones, are presented alongside comments on the broader theoretical implications of the central hypothesis.

I understand that there is ongoing experimental work

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.