Creating an Event Horizon Analogue using the Belousov-Zhabotinsky Reaction

Student Name: Megan Fisher
Major: Physics
Minor: Mathematics
Advisor: Dr. Niklas Manz, Dr. John Lindner (second reader)
The purpose of this thesis was to create a tabletop analogue for the event horizon of a black hole using the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction. To create this analogue, we aim to fill a channel with a BZ solution, initiate a wave, and pump the fluid at a velocity to exactly oppose the BZ wave to create a standing wave. We redesigned the reaction container for the experimental setup to create sections of varying height to create a velocity gradient as the fluid was pumped. The experimental set up was transitioned from the previously used NE-9000G Peristaltic Pump to the Gilson Minipuls 3 Peristaltic Pump, funded by the College of Wooster’s Copeland fund. We also found a set of BZ solution concentrations to create low excitability for controllable wave production. Once all elements were tested, we performed final testing to observe and create a time-space plot to visualize the analogue.