  We consider the interaction of a weak gravitational wave with electromagnetic
fields in a thin plasma on a Minkowski background spacetime using the 1+3
orthonormal frame formalism. Because gravitational and electromagnetic waves
satisfy the same dispersion relation, electromagnetic waves can be effectively
generated as a result of this interaction. In the case of the interaction with
a static magnetic field, the amplitude of the electromagnetic waves depends on
the size of the excitation region in which the magnetic field is contained. It
is argued that due to the presence of a plasma this process can also lead to
the generation of higher harmonics of the original mode. Estimates are given
for this effect in the case of a binary pulsar and a cold electron plasma. It
is found that the emmited radiation will lie in the radio frequency band. We
also speculate on the possible relevance of this process on situations in
cosmology, in particular whether this could be used to constrain primordial
magnetic fields.
