A Classical Approach to Gravitational Waves
Ernest W. Graham
The concept of variable mass appears in special relativity. There the mass of a body is increased by its velocity and so fluctuates if the body moves in an eccentric orbit. Mach's Principle also employs additional mass, but this is caused by the mass and distance of a neighboring body. In earlier work, the fluctuating mass which varies inversely with the distance between bodies was introduced. The orbital precession of the binary pulsar PSR 1913+16 was then successfully correlated with the quite different precessions of Mercury and the other inner planets.
In the present work, a delay in adjusting gravitational force between elements of fluctuating mass is used to calculate energy loss and rate of change of period for PSR 1913+16. It is surprising that this extended use of the additional mass concept gives results of the correct order for rate of change of period and also gives the same dependence on mass and period as that shown by general relativity.
