35 Gravitational Quotes for You to Enjoy

It's a spectacular signal. It's a signal many of us have wanted to observe since the time LIGO was proposed. It shows the dynamics of objects in the strongest gravitational fields imaginable, a domain where Newton's gravity doesn't work at all, and one needs the fully non-linear Einstein field equations to explain the phenomena. Rainer Weiss

Work Time Needs Field Signal Strongest Objects Proposed Observe Since Equations Domain Where Wanted Einstein Dynamics Explain Fields Us Newton Fully Many Shows Gravitational Gravity Spectacular Imaginable Phenomena

This is the first real evidence that we've seen now of high gravitational field strengths: monstrous things like stars moving at the velocity of light, smashing into each other, and making the geometry of space-time turn into some sort of washing machine. Rainer Weiss

Light Seen First Field Stars Other Monstrous Evidence Machine High Some Velocity Smashing Like Sort Making Real Geometry Moving Turn Washing Each Washing Machine Now Things Gravitational Strengths

Space is much stiffer than you imagine; it's stiffer than a gigantic piece of iron. That's why it's taken so damned long to detect gravitational waves: to deform space takes an enormous amount of energy, and there are only so many things that have enough. Rainer Weiss

Many of us on the project were thinking if we ever saw a gravitational wave, it'd be an itsy bitsy little tiny thing; we'd never see it. This thing was so big that you didn't have to do much to see it. Rainer Weiss

You Big Thinking Wave Project Saw See Never Were Tiny Little Us Much Many Ever Thing Gravitational

I said, suppose you take a light - I was thinking of just light bulbs because, in those days, lasers were not yet really there - and sent a light pulse between two masses. Then you do the same when there's a gravitational wave. Lo and behold, you see that the time it takes light to go from one mass to the other changes because of the wave. Rainer Weiss

Time You Light Thinking Other Changes Pulse Wave Those See Take Takes Between Mass Days Suppose Masses Because Said Go Were Same Behold Just Sent Then Really Gravitational Two

The first amazing fact about gravitation is that the ratio of inertial mass to gravitational mass is constant wherever we have checked it. The second amazing thing about gravitation is how weak it is. Richard P. Feynman

Amazing First Weak Constant About Ratio Fact Checked Mass How Amazing Thing Wherever Thing Gravitation Gravitational Second

Recent results from astronomers who study the occasional gravitational lensing of unknown worlds by intervening stars suggest that orphan planets could be at least as numerous as the stars. In other words, there could be hundreds of billions of orphan worlds shuffling through our galaxy. Seth Shostak

Words Stars Numerous Other Worlds Unknown Intervening Our Hundreds Results Could Through Study Occasional Least In Other Words Galaxy Planets Who Billions Orphan Shuffling Gravitational Suggest Recent

Even if 'going retrograde' or 'moving into Aquarius' were real phenomena, something that planets actually do, what influence could they possibly have on human events? A planet is so far away that its gravitational pull on a new-born baby would be swamped by the gravitational pull of the doctor's paunch. Richard Dawkins

Doctor Events Baby Possibly Would Would-Be Something Could Retrograde Real Were Going Human Influence New-Born Swamped Moving Far Far Away Planet Planets Even Away Actually Gravitational Phenomena Pull