Gravitational Time Dilation

Abstract

This activity occurs in an introductory Astronomy course that could occur at the high school or undergraduate level. This is in a unit on Black Holes that follows a unit on stellar life cycles. Students have been introduced to general relativity via a common cloth/fabric model with a heavy ball placed on it to show the warping/bending of space. Students will learn how that bending of space also leads to the dilation of time around massive objects and what it means for time to be relative.

Level – high school, undergraduate

Setting – classroom

Activity Type - Learning Cycle

Discipline – Astronomy

Course – Introductory Astronomy (Astronomy 101 or similar)

Keywords – gravity, speed of light, general relativity, time dilation