Gravitational Lensing: Difference between revisions
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{| class="wikitable" style="color:black; background-color:#ddd; margin-left: auto; float:right" | {| class="wikitable" style="color:black; background-color:#ddd; margin-left: auto; float:right" | ||
| [[Astronomy]]: | | [[Astronomy]]: | ||
| Gravitational Lensing | | Gravitational Lensing, Black Holes | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Grade Range: | | Grade Range: | ||
| [[High School]] | | [[Middle School]], [[High School]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Format: | | Format: | ||
| Line 10: | Line 10: | ||
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This | This is an thought-provoking demonstration on how we can identify black holes in outer space. It does require some background knowledge on black holes for the participant, so it works best with an older audience. | ||
== Materials == | == Materials == | ||
* Wine Glass Bottoms | * Wine Glass Bottoms | ||
* Gravitational Lensing Images | |||
== Safety Precautions == | == Safety Precautions == | ||
| Line 24: | Line 24: | ||
== Demonstration == | == Demonstration == | ||
# Have students pick up the wine glass bottoms and try looking through them at different objects in the room. Can they see through the center of it? | |||
# Instead of trying to look through the center, have them try to identify objects by looking at the warped image around the center. What do they notice about the warped image? | |||
# Have students compare what they are seeing to the images you have. Does the effect look similar? | |||
== Why This Works == | == Why This Works == | ||
''Gravitational Lensing'' is an effect that we see around massive stellar objects, such as black holes. If we are trying to look at a black hole, we won't actually see it, since it doesn't emit any light, and traps any light that comes towards it. However, we ''can'' see stars and other stellar objects that are ''behind'' the black hole. Some of the light that is emitted from the star is far enough away from the black hole that it will not be pulled into it. However, the force of gravity that the black hole has will still warp the light, and cause it to curve around the black hole. This warped light we can see with telescopes, and based on how much it is warped we can determine the approximate size of the black hole, and the distance it is from the star behind it. | |||
When we look through the wine glass bottoms, we cannot see directly through the center of them, because it is too foggy. This is what we can imagine to be our black hole, because we cannot identify it directly. However, we can see the light coming from around the center. The images we see are really warped though, and some even wrap fully around the outside of the center foggy spot. This is what the gravitational lensing effect looks like to us; the light from the star or object behind the black hole is distorted around it, and can even wrap an entire image around the black hole. You may even notice the doubling of an image through this warped area! | |||
== Additional Information == | == Additional Information == | ||
* | * 01101000 01110100 01110100 01110000 01110011 00111010 00101111 00101111 01110111 01101000 01100001 01110100 00101101 01101001 01100110 00101110 01111000 01101011 01100011 01100100 00101110 01100011 01101111 01101101 00101111 00110001 00110011 00110110 00101111 | ||
Latest revision as of 14:15, 6 April 2016
| Astronomy: | Gravitational Lensing, Black Holes |
| Grade Range: | Middle School, High School |
| Format: | Hands-on |
This is an thought-provoking demonstration on how we can identify black holes in outer space. It does require some background knowledge on black holes for the participant, so it works best with an older audience.
Materials
- Wine Glass Bottoms
- Gravitational Lensing Images
Safety Precautions
Please read the General Safety section of the Demonstration Safety page before performing this demonstration.
Demonstration
- Have students pick up the wine glass bottoms and try looking through them at different objects in the room. Can they see through the center of it?
- Instead of trying to look through the center, have them try to identify objects by looking at the warped image around the center. What do they notice about the warped image?
- Have students compare what they are seeing to the images you have. Does the effect look similar?
Why This Works
Gravitational Lensing is an effect that we see around massive stellar objects, such as black holes. If we are trying to look at a black hole, we won't actually see it, since it doesn't emit any light, and traps any light that comes towards it. However, we can see stars and other stellar objects that are behind the black hole. Some of the light that is emitted from the star is far enough away from the black hole that it will not be pulled into it. However, the force of gravity that the black hole has will still warp the light, and cause it to curve around the black hole. This warped light we can see with telescopes, and based on how much it is warped we can determine the approximate size of the black hole, and the distance it is from the star behind it.
When we look through the wine glass bottoms, we cannot see directly through the center of them, because it is too foggy. This is what we can imagine to be our black hole, because we cannot identify it directly. However, we can see the light coming from around the center. The images we see are really warped though, and some even wrap fully around the outside of the center foggy spot. This is what the gravitational lensing effect looks like to us; the light from the star or object behind the black hole is distorted around it, and can even wrap an entire image around the black hole. You may even notice the doubling of an image through this warped area!
Additional Information
- 01101000 01110100 01110100 01110000 01110011 00111010 00101111 00101111 01110111 01101000 01100001 01110100 00101101 01101001 01100110 00101110 01111000 01101011 01100011 01100100 00101110 01100011 01101111 01101101 00101111 00110001 00110011 00110110 00101111