Re: The speed of gravity

[Michael Bowen <fizzbowen@MINDSPRING.COM>]

At 06:12 2002/09/05, Paul Johnson wrote:
> Michael, Perhaps I'm the only one who doesn't know how it will turn out. How
> do you think it will?

Hugh Haskell and Bernard Cleyet both pointed out, in earlier responses to
this thread, things that also made me uncomfortable about the description
of the experiment; they should both be complimented on noticing the misuse
of scientific language and glossing-over of certain details without
receiving any hints from me (other than the initial direction to the
article's hyperlink). As you can see, when I proposed this as an
"interesting read", I was hoping to provoke discussion on several fronts,
and the members of this list did not disappoint me! :-)

Although the experiment is not described with ideal clarity, I interpreted
it as an investigation into the speed of propagation of gravitational
fluctuations (gravitons?). I shall bravely assume that the experiment will
be planned, conducted, and analyzed somewhat more carefully than its
announcement. Under these circumstances, I expect experimental findings to
confirm (not prove!) Einstein's prediction that these fluctuations
propagate at the speed of EM radiation in vacuum.

--MB