Gravity Rubber Sheet Analogy

My single group quasi experimental study with repeated measures was designed to assess the effectiveness of the rubber sheet analogy in teaching gravitational fields.

Gravity rubber sheet analogy.

The rubber sheet or trampoline analogy for gravity is flawed because it is not fully three dimensional as a real star and planets would be. In space it will follow a straight line and go over any hole on the surface. The rubber sheet analogy for einstein s general relativity model of gravity is a popular way to visualize the effect mass has on the curvature of spacetime. The rubber sheet analogy for einstein s general relativity model of gravity is a popular way to visualize the effect mass has on the curvature of spacetime.

One of the most famous analogies in science is fundamentally flawed say physicists who have shown that a. That the warping of spacetime to produce gravity is like the deformation of a rubber sheet by a central mass. But a ball rolls on a surface because gravity is pulling it down. Experiments reveal that deformed rubber sheet is not like spacetime.

Now physicists have tested this idea theoretically and experimentally and say it doesn t hold water. The right hand side of this pair of drawings is closer to real life but still not accurate.