- #36
Ibix
Science Advisor
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No. You can pick a notion of time so that the stretch-and-squish effect is perpendicular to this, so the gravitational wave has no effect on time. That isn't necessarily the most convenient coordinate system for describing the LIGO instrument, but if you can make the case that the instrument works in one coordinate system, it must work in all coordinate systems, even if the description is more complex.Marcus Parker-Rhodes said:As far as I understand a gravitational wave flexes the whole of space/time spreading across the firmament
like a ripple on a pond, but it seems to me that would not only stretch and squash the machine and the scientists operating it, but also include time and so the apparent speed of light.