Ever since the Laser Interferometer Gravitational–Wave Observatory (LIGO), one each at Hanford, Washington, and Livingston, Louisiana, allegedly detected gravity waves from merging binary black holes on September 14, 2015, there have been numerous challenges to the claim (and to subsequent claims for further detections, including even gravity waves from merging binary neutron stars on August 17, 2017). These challenges range from denying the very existence of black holes to “liberties” taken with the interpretation of the signals received at the different sites, especially the fact that these signals were pre-simulated to align with the theory of gravitational waves themselves, such that their “detection” was no more than a self-fulfilling prophecy. One particularly astute challenge stems from the claim that, if a gravity wave were to distort space-time, then not only light waves, but also the physical dimensions of LIGO itself, would be distorted, such that any alleged “perturbation” claimed to be a gravity wave due to generation of an interference pattern from the LIGO lasers could not be due to gravity waves. This possibility is examined here, with an alternative as aether disturbances included as what LIGO actually has detected.
