Geodesic deviation near a gravitating sphere, illustrating curvature as the origin of gravitational attraction
This program illustrates the relationship between gravity and curvature by showing how nearby geodesics converge or diverge in the curved spacetime around a massive sphere. In general relativity, what we perceive as gravitational attraction is the convergence of initially parallel geodesics due to spacetime curvature described by the Riemann tensor. The visualization projects this four-dimensional geometry into an accessible three-dimensional representation.
Controls: Click and drag to orbit, scroll to zoom.
