Free The Ripple in Space-Time: Free City Book 1 (The Free City Series) by S F Chapman Page B

by the 9th of April 2450.

18. The ripple “ There ’ s one, ” Dr. Carla Stuhr pointed to the dappled and brightly colored image on
the monitor.
    Lev nodded, “ OK, I see it. ”
    In the dimly lit basement
workroom, both Ryo and Keira strained to detect the indistinguishable
irregularity.
    Finally the old Investigator
shrugged, “ You got me, what are we looking for here? ”
    “ Now I lost it, ” Carla admitted sheepishly. The
fledgling Gravitational Astronomer adjusted the sensitivity and the image
exploded into a chaotic mosaic of vivid specks. She gently manipulated the controls
until the countless colored dots merged into larger irregular splotches.
    “ There, that ’ s better. ” The tall brown haired scientist turned to the visitors in triumph, “I
bumped into Lev several days ago and he mentioned that he was helping out with
your investigation of the Lab disaster. ”
    “ I told Dr. Stuhr that we weren ’ t having much luck tracking down the pirates who were apparently at the
Lab just before the explosion, ” Lev interjected.
    Carla laughed girlishly, “ It seems so strange when you call me Dr. Stuhr, sweetie. ”
    Lev blushed.
    “ How is it that you two know each other? ” Ryo asked.
    Keira rubbed her forehead in
distaste at the nauseatingly flirtatious pair.
    Carla grinned, “ We dated for awhile, then I moved in with him for about six months. It wasn ’ t particularly serious. ”
    “ Why am I not surprised, ” Keira muttered
to herself.
    Lev kissed Carla ’ s cheek; “ She finally traded me in for someone else. ”
    Ryo spent several seconds studying
each of the three young people in room, “ Alright then; back to the matter
at hand. Please explain the significance of the abstract art on the screen, Dr.
Stuhr. ”
    “ What we’re looking at is an enhanced false color image of
gravitational waves propagating through the Solar System. ”
    Keira grimaced, “ Gravitational waves? ”
    “ The physics involved is really complicated, ” Lev admitted. “ Mmm, you need to know something
about Space-Time for this to make any sense. ”
    “ That ’ s true, ” Carla nodded, “ I ’ d forgotten that
most people have never heard of it. ”
    Ryo and Keira shared the same
befuddled look.
    Lev smiled, “ It ’ s not that bad, Albert Einstein was remarkably good at
using simple analogies to explain parts of the theories of relativity. So
imagine a bed sheet pulled tightly over a frame. ”
    Ryo tipped his head slightly and
Keira frowned.
    “ This could be an overly simplified two-dimensional version
of four-dimensional Space-Time. If we place an object like a bowling ball on
the fabric, the mass of the object bends the sheet just as a star or a planet ‘ bends ’ Space-Time. ”
    “ I suppose that makes sense, ” the old
Investigator stroked his chin.
    “ A small object like a asteroid barely bends the fabric, ” Lev continued, “ a really massive star creates a
significant distortion that extends far beyond. Gravity is the bending or
warping of Space-Time. ”
    “ What does this have to do with gravitational waves? ” Keira scowled.
    “ So far, in the sheet analogy, ” Carla chuckled, “ our bowling ball is at rest. Out there in the Universe,
everything is moving. ”
    “ This is my favorite part, ” Lev grinned. “ If I nudge the bowling ball and it rolls around on our tightly stretched
sheet, it bends the fabric around it as it moves causing distinctive waves or
ripples that effect anything that is nearby. If it passes near a smaller ball,
the little guy will fall into orbit around the bigger one. The same thing
happens in space with stars, planets and moons; even galaxies. Moving objects
with mass cause ripples in Space-Time that we can detect as gravitational
waves. ”
    Ryo slowly smiled, “ OK, I see how that works. ”
    “ For centuries, ” Carla tapped idly at colorful
image on the display screen, “ we knew that gravitational waves
existed, but they are so faint