Gravity Bowling Ball Rubber Sheet

The gravity of the situation.

Gravity bowling ball rubber sheet.

It s often misused to show that mass warps spacetime 895. This comic refers to a common analogy used to explain how mass distorts space time a bowling ball resting on a sheet of rubber distorts the sheet due to its weight. The typical rubber sheet bowling ball analogy to explain gravity visually in layman s terms always seems to be two space dimensions. A higher differential translates to more flare potential so every time the ball makes a rotation it exposes a fresh portion of coverstock material to the oil.

Just placing an object somewhere in that dip will result in it rolling down the slope towards the bowling ball. The bowling ball has a greater mass so it also has a greater gravitational force. Let s look at the case of a falling bowling ball and basket ball. In the classic classroom rubber sheet demonstration the marble rolls toward the bowling ball because the earth s gravity causes it to roll down hill.

This is nothing at all like the way general relativity works. Why don t we use one dimension of space and the other of time. This is a force diagram showing the two objects. The rubber sheet analogy only works even for the orbits if you assume that the orbiting object tends to want to roll down hill in the dip made by the bowling ball.

The rubber sheet analogy fails massively in one area any demonstration of it involves gravity on earth. It isn t just warped space that s involved it is warped space time. If an object like a tennis ball is then thrown onto the rubber sheet the tennis ball will gravitate towards the bowling ball. In space it will follow a straight line and go over any hole on the surface.

If i use a bowling ball to deform a sheet and then role a golf ball along the sheet nearby the golf ball will move a bit towards the bowling ball because of the force of gravity around me not gravity in the simulation. I have never like it as an analogy either. The distortions in the rubber sheet representing the distortions in space and time. General relativity requires a curvature of space time not just space.

But a ball rolls on a surface because gravity is pulling it down. In the cartoon image of einstein s explanation of gravity a rubber sheet is pulled tight and a bowling ball is placed in the middle. Both are curved by mass and everybody takes eucledean cartesian type flat graphs of say x and t as a matter of course. Teaching physics the next part of the original analogy explains a black hole.

The system has some qualitative features in common with gravity.