Naked Science Forum
Non Life Sciences => Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology => Topic started by: D on 16/04/2016 20:14:48
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Theoretically would it be possible to use a gravitational wave to add energy to particles. i mean if gravitational wave is able to expand space and everything within that space to a certain degree would it be passable to expend a particle thus giving it more energy?
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You don't even need gravitational waves to accelerate objects - it has been done in our own solar system, where gravitational wave emissions are miniscule.
Many interplanetary space probes use a gravitational slingshot (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_assist) to give them the velocity they need to reach the outer solar system (or the inner solar system, which, counter-intuitively, is just as difficult to reach despite it being closer to the center of the Sun's gravitational pull).
If you were close to a pair of orbiting black holes, where there is a significant emission of gravitational waves, you may be able to "surf" the gravitational waves to gain velocity; but it might be much easier to plot a course between the black holes that would give you a very significant acceleration.
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You don't even need gravitational waves to accelerate objects - it has been done in our own solar system, where gravitational wave emissions are miniscule.
Many interplanetary space probes use a gravitational slingshot (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_assist) to give them the velocity they need to reach the outer solar system (or the inner solar system, which, counter-intuitively, is just as difficult to reach despite it being closer to the center of the Sun's gravitational pull).
If you were close to a pair of orbiting black holes, where there is a significant emission of gravitational waves, you may be able to "surf" the gravitational waves to gain velocity; but it might be much easier to plot a course between the black holes that would give you a very significant acceleration.
sorry perhaps my question was little confusing. i'm not talking about adding energy by accelerate a particle, i'm talking about when the gravitational wave expand space does the mass of the particle within that space changes? i mean if you expand a particle it becomes bigger thus getting more energy, or could it be because of electromagnetic and strong force being so much stronger the quantum world will not be affected by the gravitational wave
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when the gravitational wave expand space does the mass of the particle within that space changes?
I expect that a particle of a certain mass, when exposed to gravitational waves will expand (by an infinitesimal amount) and contract (by an infinitesimal amount). The amount of expansion and contraction will be tiny compared to the normal atomic vibrations of matter at room temperature.
The gravitational wave, having done its squishy thing with space will then propagate onwards at the speed of light, squishing other bits of space in it's path. Left behind will be the original mass of matter.
I imagine that if you were very close to a black hole merger that the amount of strain exerted on matter could be comparable to the amplitude of atomic vibrations at room temperature. When you stretch matter, you have to inject energy, and when you compress matter you have to inject energy. So I imagine that a mass close to a black hole collision could be heated by the gravitational wave, and the gravitational wave would then have slightly less energy with which to squish other lumps of matter in its path.
But heating a piece of matter from (say) a temperature of 300K to 600K would have an immeasurably small impact on its mass.