Glass hologram cube of a Black Hole

5.9x5.9x5.9cm Glass

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30€ (incl. VAT plus shipping costs)

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The exhibition The Presence of Absence (12.10.2024-02.03.2025) at Frankfurter Kunstverein presents in co-operation with Prof Dr Luciano Rezzolla (Institute for Theoretical Physics, Goethe University Frankfurt) and thanks to the support from the European Research Council (ERC) a glass hologram cube of photon trajectories curved by the gravitational pull of a black hole.

These fascinating glass holograms of curved light paths vividly demonstrate how a black hole influences the motion of light—a visual experience that brings the complex structure of the cosmos to life.

A black hole is a solution of the Einstein equations in the absence of matter, that is, in vacuum. Its outer edge is represented by the “event horizon”, a geometrical surface where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can leave it. Hence, it is possible to enter the event horizon but not to leave it.

Because it cannot emit light, the event horizon of a black hole cannot be “seen”, at least in terms of light rays. However, the motion in its vicinity of light rays can reveal its presence.

The block shows the trajectories of light rays, or photons as physicists also call them, as they approach or leave a rotating black hole. The complex and sometimes bizarre trajectories they follow are the result of the strongly warped spacetime. The cube helps understand that the two-dimensional image of a black hole we measure with radio telescopes and the resulting photo is really the product of the three-dimensional motion of light rays coming from all directions and being deflected by the black hole.

These trajectories provide information not only on the presence of a black hole but also on its properties, that is, the mass and spin (how rapidly it rotates). Shown on one of the sides of the cube is an almost circular shape that scientists call the “shadow” of the black hole. Measuring the size and shape of the shadow helps them reveal the presence of a black hole and understand its properties.