The conversation between human and AI assistant.
Why do gravitational waves only stretch and strain space in the transverse direction?
That's very interesting. Are there any other effects of gravitational waves that we observe?
Yes, apart from stretching and compressing space in the transverse direction, gravitational waves also cause time to dilate or contract as they pass through a region of space. This time dilation effect can be observed when measuring the distance to gravitationally lensed objects, such as in the case of the Einstein Cross.