Explore spacetime curvature as a teaching grid: mass bends geodesics, with literacy r_s = 2GM/c^2 (Sun ~2.95 km, Earth ~8.87 mm).
Published literacy: r_s = 2GM/c^2, Sun ~2.95 km, Earth ~8.87 mm, 10 Msun black hole ~29.5 km. The on-screen ring is exaggerated for teaching.
Drag to orbit and scroll or pinch to zoom. Switch Earth / Sun / 10 Msun BH, or toggle geodesics and the r_s ring.
Spacetime Curvature 3D Explorer
This browser explorer shows spacetime curvature as a teaching grid - mass bends nearby geodesics, with literacy r_s = 2GM/c^2 (Sun ~2.95 km, Earth ~8.87 mm).
Gravity Well 3D owns escape-velocity embedding wells. Light Cone 3D owns flat Minkowski causal regions. This page owns curved-grid geodesic intuition.
- Deformed spacetime grid that deepens with selected mass
- Earth / Sun / 10 Msun BH body presets
- Teal geodesic paths that bend toward the mass
- Exaggerated orange r_s teaching ring
- Facts panel lists 2GM/c^2, 2.95 km, 8.87 mm, and 29.5 km
- Distinct from gravity-well and light-cone
- Runs fully in the browser with the vendored three.js engine - no account, no upload
Students see why heavier bodies deepen the grid; teachers contrast flat light-cone diagrams with curved geodesics; curious readers connect r_s = 2GM/c^2 to the Sun's ~2.95 km figure.
| Figure | Value | Source note |
|---|---|---|
| r_s formula | 2GM/c^2 | Schwarzschild radius |
| Sun r_s | ~2.95 km | Published literacy |
| Earth r_s | ~8.87 mm | Published literacy |
| 10 Msun BH r_s | ~29.5 km | 10 x solar teaching scale |
Everything renders on your device with WebGL. The 3D engine loads once (about 0.7 MB) and is cached; no scene data is sent to a server.
This is an educational curved-grid schematic - not a Schwarzschild metric solver. The r_s ring is exaggerated for one-screen teaching.
For a step-by-step walkthrough, read the Spacetime Curvature 3D Explorer step-by-step guide. The Space 3D collection also includes Gravity Well 3D and Light Cone 3D.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Spacetime Curvature 3D Explorer show?
A teaching grid that deepens near mass, teal geodesics that bend inward, and an exaggerated r_s ring. Literacy figures include r_s = 2GM/c^2, Sun ~2.95 km, and Earth ~8.87 mm.
How is this different from Gravity Well 3D?
Gravity Well 3D focuses on escape-velocity wells. This page focuses on curved-grid geodesic intuition and Schwarzschild-radius literacy.
How is this different from Light Cone 3D?
Light Cone 3D teaches flat Minkowski past/future/elsewhere regions. This page teaches how mass curves the nearby path grid.
Is the orange ring the real r_s size?
No. The ring is exaggerated so it is visible on one screen. Real Sun r_s is only about 2.95 km.
Is this a Schwarzschild metric solver?
No. It is an educational curved-grid schematic - not a full GR geodesic integrator.
What does 10 Msun BH mean here?
It is a teaching scale at about 10 times the solar Schwarzschild radius (~29.5 km), used to deepen the grid for comparison.