• Question: Does gravity have a speed of propagation?

    Asked by ZombieBomb to Steven, Lidunka, Jillian, Connor on 16 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: Steven Thomson

      Steven Thomson answered on 16 Jun 2015:

      That’s an excellent question!

      In Newton’s original theory, gravity travelled infinitely fast, but we now know that’s impossible. In Einstein’s theory of relativity, gravity should propagate at the speed of light in the form of a gravitational wave. In some more advanced particle and string theories, gravity is carried by particles called gravitons which also propagate at the speed of light.

    • Photo: Jillian Scudder

      Jillian Scudder answered on 16 Jun 2015:

      It does! Changes in a gravitational field propogate at the speed of light. No information can be transmitted faster than that limit.

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