Working Principle of the exhibit
Geometry of gravity: space time curvature: Einstein’s theory of gravitation known as the
“general theory of relativity” was radically a new attempt in understanding the nature of gravity and motion together. The implications are as follows
- In absence of gravity the space-time continuum is flat.
- The presence of mass which we typically think of gravity distorts the space-time around it.
- In a curved space time the geometry is a bit different (Schwarzschild’s geometry). There are no straight lines - as there are no straight lines on the surface of a sphere. This distorted geometry of space time makes matter move following the straightest possible path.
Mode of display:
There are many practical evidences that proves that space is curved. For the sake of simplicity, it can be demonstrated as follows:
Two kinds of distributions are shown in this exhibit --- one in a curved surface and another in a flat surface. Optical fibres are used to mimic the appearance of stars.
The visitors can clearly observe that the distribution of stars is not uniform in the curved surface. There is a crowding of stars at the rim area, whereas in the middle they are uniformly distributed. However, when the same thing is seen through the flat surface the distribution appears to be totally uniform.
