Spacetime Curvature 3D Grid

If you've heard of "General Relativity" or "spacetime", you've probably seen an image of Earth on a grid-like sheet, causing the sheet to be depressed below it. This is the popular rubber sheet analogy used to represent the curvature of spacetime in Einstein's theory of General Relativity.

I remember seeing this image on most articles and videos on the subject. As hard as it is to grasp the 4-dimensional nature of spacetime, images and videos of the rubber sheet analogy only compounded my confusion, leading me to believe that what little intuitive understanding I had was way off. Why is the sheet curved away from the mass? Is the mass exerting a "downward" pressure on the sheet? Does the sheet represent a 2D slice of spacetime?

Another popular attempt at spacetime analogy uses a 3D grid that shows the curvature. While not as popular as the rubber sheet, I find it to be much more intuitive and easy to understand. This project attempts to present the 3D grid analogy in an interactive medium.

It's still an analogy though. Plus I'm no expert on the subject - I'm certain I'm somewhere on the slopes of Mount Stupid on the Dunning-Kruger graph - being just confident enough to make something out of the little knowledge I have. Corrections and suggestions are welcome.

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Controls:

• Drag to rotate/pan
• Scroll to zoom

Apparently mobile browsers make the controls wonky. Use a desktop browser like the intelligent person you are.

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