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Narrator: This is a kinesthetic model to help participants
understand the effect that a black hole has on objects in its neighborhood of space.
All participants should be assigned one of four roles: black
hole, orbiting star, nearby star, or distant star.
You should scale the number of people in each role appropriately to the size of your group.
A four or five foot diameter circle should be marked-out
on the floor. Using a rope or cord is an excellent temporary way to do this.
Participants assigned to the role of black hole should stand in the
center of the circle. The circle represents the black hole's event horizon, the
point of no return. Anything that comes within the circle cannot escape the black
hole. Participants assigned the role of orbiting star should start
orbiting just outside of the roped circle. These objects are fully under the influence
of the black hole's gravity but still remain separate objects. Those
assigned the role of nearby star will be orbiting a bit farther away from the circle.
They are still influenced by the gravity of the black hole, but may also have other influences
on their motion. They may at times come closer to the black hole while at other
times moving much farther away. The last of the participants
are assigned the role of distant stars. They are even farther from the black hole and are
too far away to be affected by its presence. For the most
part, these objects continue in their roles with little deviation. A nearby
star might very occasionally come close enough to bump an orbiting star into the black hole,
but it's a rare occurence. Contrary to popular mythology, the black hole
does not immediately suck up everything in its neighborhood, so in our activity
want everyone to end up in the black hole. Just as it plays out in the universe,
not much changes, even if you've got a black hole in your distant neighborhood.
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