Gravitational Wave Propulsion
Giorgio Fontana
Summary and citation · read the original at the source · none found
In one page
Giorgio Fontana’s argument is that gravitational waves are not only something to detect — they are something to fly on. Writing for the 2005 STAIF meeting, he reviews and compares the routes that have been proposed for turning gravitational radiation into thrust. A craft can radiate gravitational waves and recoil, exactly as a rocket recoils from its exhaust, but with radiation instead of propellant. And because Einstein’s equations are non-linear, gravitational waves can be converted into a static gravitational field, which opens a second route Fontana calls artificial gravity assist: make your own gravity well and fall through it, rather than waiting to pass a planet. Compared with rocketry, he argues, the advantage in efficiency and performance is undeniable. What the idea needs is hardware — generators powerful enough and at wavelengths short enough to reach high energy density, and detectors designed for this specific job. Fontana puts that within reach of a large national or worldwide programme.
Why it matters hereChapter four is about moving by changing the metric rather than by throwing mass backwards, and this is the paper that lays the propulsion options out side by side and asks which one an engineering programme should pick. Chapter ten supplies the missing half — the laboratory generator, the device that turns electromagnetic power into gravitational radiation — which is exactly the piece Fontana names as the thing to build next.
What it claims
01The emission of gravitational waves from astrophysical sources has been confirmed by observation, so the preliminary discovery a propulsion programme depends on has already been made; it is no longer reasonable to wait for additional confirmation before starting to build generators and testing their application to space travel.Abstract, sentences 2 to 6
Published and peer-reviewed02A vast literature shows that gravitational waves can be employed for space propulsion, and gravitational wave rockets have been proposed.Abstract, sentences 7 and 8, first clause
Designed, not yet built03The non-linearity of the Einstein equations allows the conversion of gravitational waves into a static gravitational field, so that artificial gravity assist may become a new way of travelling in space-time.Abstract, sentence 8, second clause
Designed, not yet built04Different approaches to gravitational wave propulsion are reviewed and compared, and against traditional rocket propulsion an undeniable advantage can be demonstrated in terms of efficiency and performance.Abstract, sentences 9 and 10
Designed, not yet built05Testing the predictions will require gravitational wave generators with high power and a wavelength short enough to produce high energy densities.Abstract, sentence 11
What to watch06Detectors designed for this specific application must be developed, taking into account that non-linearity effects are expected; the study and development of gravitational wave propulsion appears to be within the reach of a large national or a worldwide research programme.Abstract, sentence 12 and closing sentence
What to watch
The way in
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1867262SOURCE NOT REACHED IN FULL. Published in AIP Conference Proceedings volume 746, pages 1331 to 1338, the proceedings of the Space Technology and Applications International Forum held at Albuquerque, New Mexico, in February 2005, edited by Mohamed S. El-Genk. The paper carries no Creative Commons statement; OpenAlex and Unpaywall both return closed with no repository copy, and AIP Publishing answers automated requests for the article PDF with a refusal page — all checked 2026-09-08. No text of the paper is reproduced here. The summary and the claims are written from Fontana’s own published abstract, which the OpenAlex record for this DOI carries in full, and the locators cite that abstract sentence by sentence. DATE CONTEXT, NOT A CORRECTION. The abstract opens from the position of early 2005, when gravitational waves had been inferred from the orbital decay of the Hulse–Taylor binary pulsar but not yet caught directly; LIGO’s direct detection of GW150914 was announced in February 2016, which settles the premise the paper argues from rather than altering anything it proposes. AFFILIATION. Fontana writes from the University of Trento. COMPANION READING. Three related sheets in this library: Fontana and Baker on high-frequency gravitational waves inducing nuclear fusion at /library/stm-16344796f3, Fontana, Binder and Robertson on electromagnetic to gravitational wave conversion via nuclear holonomy at /library/stm-2c2cbbfb71, and Beckwith and Robertson on relic high-frequency gravitational waves and how to detect them at /library/stm-c1ad7838f6.
How to cite it
Giorgio Fontana (2005) Gravitational Wave Propulsion. doi:10.1063/1.1867262
Where it sits in the curriculum
The metric, warp drives and wormholesScalar waves and the field behind the fields