Black Holes: What Scientist Know About Them

1882 Words4 Pages

Space has been mesmerizing humans since the beginning of time; from the fascinated star-gazing child to the great minds of Plato, Aristotle, and Galileo. Space contains countless mysteries. One of these mysteries is black holes. As far as information about space goes, scientists know a moderate amount of information about black holes. Scientists know how black holes are made, how they affect objects around them, and how to spot them in space. Firstly, there are different types of black holes: Astrophysical, Supermassive, Mathematical, and Physical. A Physical, or regular, black hole is then categorized by its three properties: mass, spin, and magnetic field. A black hole with no spin and no magnetic field is a Schwarzchild black hole. A black hole with spin but no magnetic field is a Reissner-Nordstrøm. Finally, a black hole with both spin and a magnetic field is a Kerr black hole. All regular black holes are formed when a star collapses into an object that is so compacted nothing can escape the force of gravity. Stars that are about five times the size of the sun are only capable of being black holes. If the star does not have enough gravitational force acting upon it, the star will just cool down into a white dwarf. A star is a balance between two forces, the inward pressure of gravity and the outward pressure of radiation. Once a star has converted all its energy from its element stockpiles it reaches the element of iron. Iron atoms cannot create energy when fused together. The star stops emitting radiation which causes the inward pressure of gravity to overcome the now nonexistent outward pressure of radiation. The star implodes and a black hole is formed. All black holes have two major components. The collapsed center of... ... middle of paper ... ...a black hole. In summary, there are three major types of black holes: the physical, the astrophysical, and the mathematical. Physical black holes are categorized into three classes: the Schwarzchild, the Reissner-Nordstrøm, and the Kerr. Schwarzchild black holes are black holes that do not rotate or have a magnetic field. Reissner-Nordstrøm black holes do rotate but do not have a magnetic field, and, finally, Kerr black holes do rotate and do have a magnetic field. Physical black holes are formed when a star that is at least five times the size of our Sun burns until it reaches the element iron. Then the star does not have enough outward pressure to prevent gravity from crushing it inward. The other type of black hole is the astrophysical black hole. Astrophysical black holes are somewhat theoretical but scientists are trying to link them to the physical world.

More about Black Holes: What Scientist Know About Them

Open Document