[thedoc (OP)]

Tim Gladwin asked the Naked Scientists:
   Gravitational waves - as they are not part of the electromagnetic spectrum I guess that the speed is not necessarily the speed of light. If this is the case then what is the speed of gravitational waves?
What do you think?

[evan_au]

We know experimentally that Gravitational Waves travel fairly close to the speed of light, based on the time they were detected at locations about 3000 miles apart. But you can't be sure with just 2 detectors. This should be able to be confirmed with more precision when a third gravitational wave detector becomes operational, in a few years.

Note that the speed of electromagnetic radiation is not always "the speed of light". Light slows down when it enters denser materials; for example, light slows by about 40% when it enters your eyeball. Strictly speaking, electromagnetic radiation only travels at "the speed of light" through a vacuum.

This is covered in some detail in: http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=65812.0

[chris]

light slows by about 40% when it enters your eyeball

That's an amazing statistic! Have you got a reference for that please Evan?

[evan_au]

light slows by about 40% when it enters your eyeball

That's an amazing statistic! Have you got a reference for that please Evan?

The speed of light is inversely proportional to the refractive index of the material through which it is passing.

A vacuum has a refractive index of 1, so light travels at c/1= "the speed of light in a vacuum" in a vacuum!

Air has a refractive index of 1.0003, so light travels at c/1.0003= pretty close to c in air!

The lens of a human eye has a refractive index of 1.386 - 1.406 (call it 1.4 = 40% more than a vacuum). Light slows to c/1.4 ≈ 214,000 km/s  when it enters the lens of your eye from the air.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_refractive_indices

Oops! The refractive index of your lens is 40% higher than air, but when light enters your eyeball, the speed of light drops to 1/1.4=71% = 29% lower than air.
But when the light reflects back out of your cat's eyes at night, its speed will increase by 40% = 1/71%.

[chris]

the speed of light drops to 1/1.4=71% = 29% lower than air

That sounds more like it! Thanks.

[Richard777]

I cant be sure about this.

There may be an invariant velocity (v_G).

Where; V_G⁴ = G (the gravitational constant)

An object having mass (m) expends energy (E_G) to deform the local continuum E_G = mG^1/2

Which may be written as; E_G = mv_G²

The energy value crops up everywhere, including within the Einstein gravitational constant (K).

This energy is associated with various forces.

One special force is Plank Unit force (F_P0);  F_P0 = E_P0²/hc 

and  E_P0= m_PG^1/2

Where; m_P is Plank mass

I hope you find this interesting.

[Colin2B]

Where; V_G⁴ = G (the gravitational constant)

I don't understand how you are balancing the dimensions of this equation

[jeffreyH]

Where; V_G⁴ = G (the gravitational constant)

I don't understand how you are balancing the dimensions of this equation

That's because he can't. There is no way that a velocity can be equal to the gravitational constant G. I have done some off the wall equations in my time but that one takes the cake.

[guest39538]

V (G_w)=0