Let me propose two experiments. The first should be able to determine the speed of the propagation of gravitational information, or whether information/ gravitation is nonlocal (instantaneous) and do so without resort to any tensor analysis, any kind of relativity, and possibly with observations already made. The second experiment should be able to determine if gravity waves exist at all. It might not be possible and wouldn’t be sensible without results from the first indicating that some kind of information propagation exists.

*** First Experiment
Several planets orbit the the reduced center of mass of the sun-planet system. If the sun were to suddenly lose some significant mass, then a planet’s orbit would wobble or change in some small way in response to the new lower mass of the sun and the changed position of the reduced center of mass. Every planet is several light minutes away from the sun. It should be straightforward to measure a speed of propagation of gravitational information if such speed is anywhere near the speed of light.

The sun obliges us. It periodically fires off massive solar flares and coronal mass ejections. These can contain millions of tons of material. When these occur they cause the sun to positionally respond (Newton’s third law,) and lose mass. This event is inevitably noticed by the planets, whose orbits perturb by some small amount.

Someone (if I were a grad student I’d propose this for a thesis, but I’m not; I have a family to feed.) could go through the decades of observations we’ve already made of planets–particularly Jupiter for orbital perturbations. We have done this primarily looking for inbound asteroids, but the observations are good. Note each perturbation and carefully note the time. Then go through the records we have of solar activity, noting the time of mass ejections. Normalize the two time stamps. Compare the results. When we have solar events, does Jupiter respond immediately, soon thereafter, or fifteen minutes later as we’d expect if V(g) = V(c)?

We could repeat the perturbation measurements for as many planets as we have time and data. With luck we could even see the gravity “wave” speed out from the sun to each planet.

A logic proof of the observations would be to see if it’s possible to more accurately predict orbits based on each orbiting where the reduced center of mass of the system was X minutes (or seconds) ago. (Heck you could do this to demonstrate that Jupiter’s orbit is probably unstable if it orbits where it thinks the sun was 15 minutes ago.)

*** Second experiment
If we could find a very-closely-spaced pair of gravitational lenses–for example an orbiting pair of back holes or massive white dwarfs–and we could observe some gravitational event through them, then would we see a single-slit diffraction pattern of gravity? (I’m not sure yet how to determine this, variable lensing?) If we did, then we’d know gravity has a wave (and possibly a particle) aspect. If we don’t, (and / or depending on the results of the first experiment) then we need to rethink some basic premises such “action at a distance.”

I invite comments
–
Richard Johnson

Good buy!

Your argument is exquisitely complicated because you’re trying to use only light to measure the speed of gravity. To do that you have to make assumptions that depend on special and general relativity.

P.S. Do you really think it’s worth your time to try to post a comment on the blog of an amateur who doesn’t believe in special relativity, much less general relativity?

The transition requires NO TIME and has NO VELOCITY.
irrespective of the distance involved.
Further more, is the basis of telephathy, and communications between most living entities in the Universe.
Unfortunately not common in humans.

In other words, it’s an interesting theory and I hope you get the opportunity to grow some legs on it.

Meanwhile, thanks and congratulations to all of you who are insisting on actual observations to deal with this. As Galileo said, “It moves.”