General relativity predicts the existence of gravitational waves, which are ripples in the fabric of spacetime that propagate through the universe at the speed of light. Gravitational waves are produced by the motion of massive objects, such as merging black holes or neutron stars, and they can be detected by instruments that are sensitive to extremely small changes in distance. The detection of gravitational waves by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in 2015 was a major breakthrough in physics, and it provided the first direct evidence for the existence of gravitational waves predicted by General relativity.\n
How does General relativity impact our understanding of the behavior of gravitational waves?