One of the most fascinating scientific discoveries of this half of the century is the experimental confirmation of Gravitional waves.
What’s so special about gravitational waves? We are all familiar with waves that constitute of Fermions and Bosons. Electromagnetic waves – sunlight, x-rays, microwaves – are the classical example of fluctuations in Bosonic fields. Electron waves – that we play around with in quantum computers and electron microscopes – are the classical examples of fluctuations of Fermion fields.
But we don’t have a quantum theory of Gravity yet – so gravity is not considered a fluctuation of any traditional quantum field. (After String theory, this might be the biggest disappointment in established institutions of Science. But that’s a tale for another time.) In essence, gravity is not thought of in the way electromagnetic waves are thought of as fluctuations of the underlying Bosonic field. Gravitational undulations are the undulations of the very fabric of space and time. Spacetime is where fermions and bosons come out and play. Imagine that – the underlying reality has underlying reality to itself!
We know that mass causes this fabric to curve. Now we know this fabric can propagate waves – just like ripples in a pond. Hypothetically if you are able to withstand the spaghettification and watch two black holes collide – you would witness something very strange. You would experience time slowing down and speeding up around you. You would see lengths contract and expand. The Universe would suddenly seem very peculiar and weird. Whether or not gravitational waves can impart energy to the spacetime it permeates through is a on-going scientific debate, but it’s an interesting one because we are literally swimming in a pond that is rippling with gravitational waves arising from collision of massive objects like black holes.
Why is this not talked about given more attention you ask? I think a large part of the scientific community is in denial of the increasingly plausible realization that gravity might not actually be Quantum. At least not in the way we know it. So they are shy about talking to the general public and maybe corrected a few decades from now. Alas to me this seems like, we are chasing rainbows and unicorns while we are failing to appreciate the beauty in front of us.