**Ask a monkey a physics question thread**

[NightGizmo]

So if there are gravitational waves, does that mean that there are associated gravity particles? If it was this hard to find the waves, how hard would it be to find evidence of gravity particles?

[MadMojoMonkey]

So if there are gravitational waves, does that mean that there are associated gravity particles? If it was this hard to find the waves, how hard would it be to find evidence of gravity particles?

Huh...
Well, either gravity waves are wave-particles, or they're not quantized. I mean, we have either (almost definitely) already detected them, or they're not there to be detected. The subtlety would be in teasing out a particle-like behavior from them.

Einstein's GR has no quantization in it, and these waves are predicted by GR. That said, there's no quantization in Maxwell's Equations or Lenz's Law, either, and we know that electromagnetic fields are quantized.

If we can demonstrate some phenomenon, like blackbody radiation, which cannot be easily explained or understood without quantization, then we'd be well suited to start really exploring a physical theory of quantum gravity.

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For the record, I'm loving these questions. They are highlighting how new this discovery is and how little I know about it so far.

[Chusko]

If only we could pass G-waves through a slit...

This is a really good question and we're talking about an unprecedented phenomenon. We're now accustomed to quantized players in the spacetime theater, but now we're talking about spacetime itself. Who knows?