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Science: Gravity as a Communications Mechanism?

Does gravity move at the speed of light? For instance, if I were able to change some energy into matter, how long would it take for other matter to begin to feel the attraction of the matter I created? I assume someone out there knows the answer.

If you could convert energy to matter and back again in an amazingly concise manner, and do it at a specific frequency, and if you could detect such changes in gravity at a specific frequency, you could conceivably use gravity as a communications mechanism. That's not likely to happen during my lifetime, but it does make for some interesting science fiction.
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Comments

Shrutarshi Basu said…
Yes, gravity does "travel" at the speed of light. But I feel like Gravitional communication would be an incredibly wasteful method of communication. A simple laser beam would get the same speed for far less cost. Good idea though.
7:49 AM
metapundit.net said…
I guess it's back to work on your quantum entanglement walkie-talkie.
8:23 AM
Eddy Mulyono said…
that would make an interesting covert channel...
9:24 AM
jjinux said…
From Jesse Montrose:

I put that idea into my (still unfinished) NaNoWriMo novel last year :)

But I just read this:

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/Relativity/GR/grav_speed.html
1:15 AM
Anonymous said…
In David Weber's Honor Harrington series the 'good guys' develop this an a FTL communications system.

Good concept
7:11 PM
jjinux said…
Crazy.
7:37 PM
Unknown said…
Well, there is at least a way to turn matter into energy. It's sort of like a one-way hash, however. It's also called an "atomic bomb". ;-)
7:49 PM
jjinux said…
While it's true that an atomic bomb does indeed send a message, it's not quite the communications mechanism I had in mind ;)
1:50 PM
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