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Why do gravitational waves only stretch and strain space in the transverse direction?
I'm curious about gravitational waves. Can you explain to me why they only stretch and strain space in the transverse direction?
Gravitational waves are ripples in the curvature of spacetime that propagate as waves, traveling outward from the source at the speed of light. When they pass through a region of space, they cause space to stretch and contract. However, this stretching is only observed in the transverse direction because gravitational waves do not cause any compression or stretching along the direction of their propagation.