Rubber Sheet Model Gravity

To visualize the space curvature related to gravity there is a model or analogy using an elastic sheet and a weight.

Rubber sheet model gravity.

It achieves an ideal balance to create an all purpose weather resistant rubber. The mechanisms behind rolling down a dent and the geodesics of spacetime are different. It is suitable to show orbital motions curved space and photon trajectories. Here we have 1 space like dimension and one time like dimension curved into 3d.

With a rubber sheet the reason things roll into the bottom of the dent is well gravity. Yet no instructional model comes without limitations. Dropping a ball on a rubber sheet creates a change in the shape of the sheet. The orange is curved space time.

It also implies that the warp is into a different dimension which is not necessary. A rubber sheet is spanned like a very soft trampoline and a heavy ball on it creates curvature in the sheet. The deformed sheet provides a mechanism of how gravity arises and the model has great explanatory power. For this reason epdm material is an excellent medium for outdoor uses.

The short answer is that particles move according to the lagrangian principle of least greatest action. Let me try the ant analogy in a bit more detail. Epdm sheet rubber is a versatile blended sheet epdm sheet rubber is a versatile blended sheet composed of ethylene propylene diene monomer and styrene butadiene rubber. In the words of john wheeler matter tells space how to curve.

Indeed physicists have known for ten years that a rubber sheet deformed by a central mass can never take on a shape that reproduces the gravitational effects of spacetime. This change does not affect the whole sheet instantly it propagates from the impact away. The similarity is that something is warping which changes the path. Yes it has nothing to do with rubber sheets imo.

The ants walk forward. The rubber sheet model sometimes also denoted spacetime simulator or pillow model 11 12 offers an intuitive explanation of gravity. In this case particles in curved spacetime follow paths that locally maximise the proper time the particle experiences. The heavier the object the deeper the resulting gravitational well.

When something heavy is placed on the sheet it causes it to dip. This walking is the analogy to moving forward in time. On the surface of the earth the acceleration is given by so called standard gravity g approximately 9 8 m s 2 although this value varies slightly with latitude and altitude. The dented rubber sheet done in earth s gravity is a not too bad analogy for newtonian gravity.