Singularity
Purpose
A stretched rubber sheet provides a 2D analog of spacetime curvature from General Relativity. Students observe marbles traveling straight lines on a flat sheet, then curved geodesic paths when the center is depressed to form a gravitational well.
Figure 1:
Neoprene sheet stretched flat between bicycle wheel rims. The marble launcher is held at the edge; marbles and foam-tipped rod are visible on the sheet.
Figure 2:
Marbles launched across the sheet. Their trajectories curve when the center is depressed to form a gravitational well.
Equipment
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Demo Apparatus
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