Newton’s tides may hide a test of Einstein’s gravity
Published
A mathematician at Freie Universität Berlin has worked out how gravitational waves could show up in the tides. The study, by Muhittin Cenk Eser, extends the classical model of lunar tides to include the cross polarization of gravitational waves, as Universe Today reports.
Newton’s theory predicts the tides very accurately. Einstein’s General Relativity gives the fuller picture, in which changes in spacetime travel as waves. Eser’s model puts both views into one calculation.
The author is careful about what the paper shows. According to the university’s press release, it does not claim a new gravitational effect. It shows how a search could be run in a targeted way.
The hard part is separating any extra signal from measurement errors, the choice of reference frame and uncertain positions of the Sun and Moon. The paper lists which of these must be accounted for before a signal can be isolated.
Why it matters: the Earth-Moon system is measured very precisely, so it could become a real test of gravity. Until someone checks the model against tidal data, it stays a plan.
Would you trust a test of Einstein’s theory that starts with ocean tides?
Sources: Universe Today