General Relativity Rubber Sheet

The rubber is a two dimensional representation of the fabric of spacetime.

General relativity rubber sheet.

General relativity is one of the more challenging ideas in science. General relativity predicted that light would bend in a gravitational field. That the warping of spacetime to produce gravity is like the deformation of a rubber sheet by a central mass. Some there have wondered if it was the rubber sheet geometry as topology was described as apparently that may have perhaps unconsciously given birth to the idea as an analogy.

In general relativity energy and mass have curvature effects on the four dimensions of the universe spacetime. The bowling ball represents a large mass like a planet or our sun. All analogies sacrifice accuracy in order to convey some aspect that is considered significant in this case the notion that gravity is caused by curvature of space time. Rubber sheet with a bowling.

The observed effect was exactly what einstein had predicted. Einstein instantly became world famous. In 1919 british expeditions to africa and south america observed a total solar eclipse to see if the position of stars near the sun had changed. This state of affairs is almost entirely the result of one the most famous analogies in science.

It seems topology was established before special or general relativity was formulated. Who came up with the idea of the rubber sheet analogy in relativity. Spacetime is depicted as a rubber sheet whilst an object such as a bowling ball often representing a planet or star though it can be any object with mass then deforms this rubber sheet when it is placed on top. The most common method of describing his theory is called the rubber sheet model.

This curvature gives rise to the gravitational force. A common analogy is placing a heavy object on a stretched out rubber sheet causing the sheet to bend downward. An analogy is always incorrect otherwise it would not be an analogy. Imagine the old bowling ball analogy for general relativity and spacetime.

The ball stretches the rubber to form a nice curved bowl shape. But on a rubber sheet that is deformed by a. Imagine a large rubber mat with a bowling ball sitting on it.