CAN THE GRAVITATIONAL-WAVE BACKGROUND FROM INFLATION BE DETECTED LOCALLY

The Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) detection of microwave backgroun d anisotropies may contain a component due to gravitational waves gene rated by inflation. It is shown that the gravitational waves from infl ation might be seen using ''beam-in-space'' detectors, but not the Las er Interferometer Gravity Wave Observatory (LIGO). The central conclus ion, dependent only on weak assumptions regarding the physics of infla tion, is a surprising one. The larger the component of the COBE signal due to gravitational waves, the smaller the expected local gravitatio nal wave signal.