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How to Make a Model of a Black Hole

Star Date defines a black hole as "an object with such powerful gravity that nothing can escape from it, including light." A model can be useful to explain the concept of black holes and what happens to objects that are close to them, especially when teaching young children, who may have trouble visualizing a black hole without a physical representation, according to the Unawe educational Web site for children.

Things You'll Need

Large, lightweight elastic bandage
Small marble
Very heavy ball
Scissors

Instructions

- 1
  Cut approximately 40 cm (or about 16 inches) of elastic bandage. Ideally, use the largest size of Tubifix (such as you might use for an injured thorax - approximately 2 feet across). You may need to cut the bandage to make a flat piece if it is in tube form.
- 2
  Stretch the bandage out horizontally, with the aid of students. There should be no slack in the bandage. The bandage will be used to represent space in two dimensions.
- 3
  Roll a small ball or marble over the bandage. It should travel in a fairly straight line. Put a heavy ball, such as a bocce ball, somewhere on the bandage and observe how its weight distorts the shape of the fabric. Your "space" now curves around the heavy ball, which represents the black hole itself and the way its intense gravity bends space.
- 4
  Roll the small marble in the vicinity of the heavy ball. Its path will be influenced by the distortion in the the bandage, much like what occurs when light passes close to a black hole. The heavier the large ball, the deeper the depression, or "gravity well" that it makes. As the marble or small ball comes close to this depression, it will begin to revolve into it. The marble will then be trapped, representing what happens to objects that enter a black hole.

Astronomy