Scaling Down the Universe
Victor Leger
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STEP 2:
Use the 28 gauge wire to fill out the mass of the Galaxy. Using the cutting pliers, have a student cut sections of wire approximately their arms’ length left to right. Starting with the center of the model, students can tie one end of the wire to it. With a little finesse, they are to ‘
loosely
’ , (this is a key word here), wind the wire around the steel rods so that it will ‘billow out’ and assume the volume of the galaxy after many windings. Refer to
Illustration C
again for clarity. Because of the natural tendency of the wire to return into a circular shape, the windings should extend away from the steel rod structure in various diameters. Work the wire so that the larger diameters are towards the center of the galactic model. This step alone will take some time in order for your model to attain it’s approximate Milky Way shape and mass.
