What are gravitational waves? (Patreon)

Imagine that space-time is a kinda blanket. A huge cosmic blanket where you throw all kinds of cosmic stuff: like planets, stars, and black holes. The heavier the object, the deeper it sinks into the blanket.

if you take two black holes and make them spin around each other, they’re not just making dents in the blanket.
They’re shaking the whole blanket:)
And that shaking - that’s a gravitational wave.

It’s not a "wave in space", it’s a wave of space....
Like, the actual distance between two points is pulsating.
One moment you’re 1 meter away from the wall, and the next it’s 0.999999999999 meters.
Back and forth.
But the amplitude is tiny. You won’t feel it unless you’ve got some insanely precise tech.