Accession No
3769
Brief Description
model of the gravitational field (potential) around a star, designed and commissioned by Stephen Hawking, maker unknown, English, c. 1978
Origin
England
Maker
Hawking, Stephen [designer and commissioner]
Class
physics; demonstration
Earliest Date
1975
Latest Date
1980
Inscription Date
Material
metal (steel, other metal); wood; paint; paper
Dimensions
330mm (width), 330mm (depth), 175mm (height)
Special Collection
Provenance
Purchased from Bonhams, Knightsbridge, London, 1990. Commissioned by Stephen Hawking for a Royal Society event in the late 1970s
Inscription
Description Notes
Sculpted metal model of the gravitational field around the sun. Designed and commissioned by Stephen Hawking, English, c. 1978.
Wooden base. Model held in place on four metal poles. Model is square metal painted white. Curves inwards and forms tube that distends downwards to wooden base, the bottom of the tube is painted yellow, representing the sun.
Good condition, although the white paint is scratched in places
References
Events
Description
This model depicts a gravity well representing the gravitational field of a star such as our Sun. As the astronomical body increases in size, the shape of the well becomes deeper and more extensive. Relative to other bodies in our solar system, the Sun is massive. The gravitational well thus corresponds to this deep and far-reaching gravitational field. Anything on the surface of a planet or moon is located at the bottom of its gravitational well. The deeper a gravitational well, the more energy required for space-bound ‘climbers’ to escape it.
17/03/2014
Created by: Allison Ksiazkiewicz on 17/03/2014
FM:40180
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