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Einstein's theory of special and general relativity
Einstein's theory of special and general relativity
Einstein's theory of special and general relativity
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For the Science Reader project, I read Black Holes, Wormholes, and Time Machines by Jim Al-Khalili. Interested in time travel and the secrets of space, I chose this book with hopes of better understanding our universe. Starting with black holes, Khalili describes the creation of one. I found that a black hole is what remains when a massive star dies. Because stars are so massive and made out of gas, there is an intense gravitational field that is always trying to collapse the star. As the star dies, the nuclear fusion reactions stop because the fuel for these reactions gets burned up. At the same time, the star's gravity pulls material inward and compresses the core. As the core compresses, it heats up and eventually creates a supernova explosion in which the material and radiation blasts out into space. What remains is the highly compressed and extremely massive core. The core's gravity is so strong that even light cannot escape. This object is now a black hole and literally cannot be seen because of the absence of light. Because the core's gravity is so strong, the core sinks through the fabric of space-time, creating a hole in space-time. The core becomes the central part of the black hole called the singularity. The opening of the hole is called the event horizon. Khalili describes that there are two different kinds of black holes: The Schwarzschild black hole is the simplest black hole, in which the core does not rotate. This type of black hole only has a singularity and an event horizon. The Kerr black hole, which is the most common form, rotates because the star from which it was formed was rotating. When the rotating star collapses, the core continues to rotate, and this carried over to the black hole. The Kerr black hole... ... middle of paper ... ... succeed, what are the consequences of such freedom? Will we get trapped in a plethora of paradoxes and multiple universes that will destroy the fabric of the universe? Einstein said that nothing travels faster than the speed of light, but Khalili negates this statement, using the behavior of entangled particles to counter Einstein. Until recently, theorists believed that wormholes could exist for only an instant of time, and anyone trying to pass through would run into a singularity. But Khalili shows the reader that more recent calculations show that a truly advanced civilization might be able to make wormholes work. By using something physicists call “exotic matter,” which has a negative energy, the civilization could prevent a wormhole from collapsing on itself. Perhaps someday in the far future, wormholes will become a useful asset in universal transportation.
Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries is a biography that is divided into 5 chapters total and a total of 42 mini sections. Bringing together more than forty of Tyson's favorite essays explores a myriad of cosmic topics, from what it would be like to be inside a black hole to the movie industry's feeble
It is believed that super massive black holes exist in the cores of many large galaxies, including the Milky Way galaxy, which is our galaxy. (Swinburne University 2014). It is believed that a normal black holes were formed because of a supernova explosion of a gigantic star, meaning when huge stars collapse, so the larger the star, the larger the black hole. ( Millis 2014) . So therefore a simple idea of how a super massive black hole might have been formed would be because of a collision of super enormous star or a collision of star clusters (star clouds). (Super massive black holes 2014)
A Black Hole is defined as an object in space that is so compact, that has a gravitational pull so powerful, not even light can escape its pull. In most cases Black Holes are formed when a massive star (much larger than our own) undergoes a supernova explosion. When this happens, the star may collapse on its own gravitational pull, thus resulting in a an object with infinitely large density and zero volume. As a result, the escape velocity (the speed required to escape the gravitational pull) becomes even greater than the speed of light, and because nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, nothing can escape a black hole.
Black holes - the strange scientific phenomenon that has astounded physicists and astronomers alike for decades. Popular subjects in science fiction novels, black holes are one of the greatest enigmas of the scientific world. Even today, the concept of a super-dense ball of matter that not even light can escape from is somewhat farfetched, and many scientists disagree with each other about nearly every aspect of a black hole. This project will attempt to shed some light on these mysterious formations, and will inform you the reader of the most popular and widely accepted theories surrounding them.
The American scientist John Wheeler coined the phrase “black hole” in 1969 to describe a massively compact star with such a strong gravitational field that light cannot escape. When a star’s central reserve of hydrogen is depleted, the star begins to die. Gravity causes the center to contract to higher and higher temperatures, while the outer regions swell up, and the star becomes a red giant. The star then evolves into a white dwarf, where most of its matter is compressed into a sphere roughly the size of Earth. Some stars continue to evolve, and their centers contract to even higher densities and temperatures until their nuclear reserves are exhausted and only their gravitational energy remain. The core then rushes inward while the mantle explodes outward, creating neutron stars in the form of rapidly rotating pulsars. Imploding stars overwhelmed by gravity form black holes, where the core hits infinite density and becomes a singularity (some estimate it at 10^94 times the density of water).
Although Dr. Hawking impacts many areas of science and cosmology, his work with black holes has revolutionized modern physics. He works in all areas of black holes, including how they work, singularities, and most importantly, Hawking radiation. Black holes are very simpl...
“The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” is so significant because of its influence of pop culture, its innovative combination of comedy and science fiction, and its ability to develop a strong fan base that reveres the series to this day. Many books are special because they were the first to do something or they were published because of the time period, but books that are the most significant are those that reach all audiences because of its
Part I: The Edge of Knowledge Chapter 1: Tied Up with Strings This is the introductory section, where the author, Brian Greene, examines the fundamentals of what is currently proven to be true by experimentation in the realm of modern physics. Green goes on to talk more about "The Basic Idea" of string theory. He describes how physicists are aspiring to reach the Theory of Everything, or T.O.E. Some suspect when string theory is completely understood that it might turn out to become the T.O.E.Part II: The Dilemma of Space, Time, and Quanta Chapter 2: Space, Time, and the Eye of the Beholder In the chapter, Greene describes how Albert Einstein solved the paradox about light. In the mid-1800's James Maxwell succeeded in showing that light was actually an electromagnetic wave.
Before I begin to speak about black holes, I will have to explain what the white glowing specks in the sky are. Without a star a black hole could not be formed. In the beginning of a star life a hydrogen is a major part of its development. Stars form from the condensation of clouds of gas that contain hydrogen. Then atoms of the cloud are pulled together by gravity. The energy produced from the cloud is so great when it first collides, that a nuclear reaction occurs. The gasses within the star starts to burn continuously. The hydrogen gas is usually the first type of gas consumed in a star and then other gas elements such as carbon, oxygen, and helium are consumed. This chain reaction of explosions fuels the star for millions or billions of years depending on the amount of gases there are.
At the point of singularity the effects of Einstein's general theory of relativity become paramount. According to this theory, space becomes curved in the vicinity of matter; the greater the concentration of matter, the greater the curvature. When the star (or supernova remnant) shrinks below a certain size determined by its mass, the extreme curvature of space seals off contact with the outside world. The place beyond which no radiation can escape is called the event horizon, and its radius is called the Schwarzschild radius after the German astronomer Karl Schwarzschild, who in 1916 postulated the existence of collapsed celestial objects that emit no radiation. For a star with a mass equal to that of the sun, this limit is a radius of only 0.9 mi (1.5 km). Even light cannot escape the black hole but is turned back by the enormous pull of gravitation.
...onding research are amongst the biggest names in the scientific world. Einstein of course, who laid the foundations. Karl Schwarzschild, who was at the forefront on picking up where Einstein left - Frank Tipler, who devised one of the first models of a time machine; and inspired a generation – Kip Thorne who opened the possibilities of wormholes in the fabric of space-time – and Stephen Hawking, who has explicitly shown a repeated interest in the topic. Even then that’s just to name a few! In the coming chapters I will analyse their work, and investigating whether in principle it is realistically possible to build a working time machine, given our current state of technological and physical progress as a civilization.
Black holes were originally thought to have only mere mathematical concepts. There was seemingly no possible way to compress any object into a space small enough to equal to its schwarzschild radius. Later however, astronomer Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar calculated that stars much larger than our own sun should theoretically be able to collapse into a black hole (UTFC). A star is like a blown up balloon with the force of gravity trying to compress the balloon inwards and the air trying to push the balloon outwards. Likewise, stars are held in balance by gravity trying to collapse the star inwards going against the outwards pressure of the internal reactions of the star called nuclear fusion.
During the summer I read ‘The Time Machine” written by H.G wells, with an introduction by Melvin Burgess. This novel is a science fiction novel due to how he uses math to prove that time travel is possible. Our story takes place in 3 of many places. The setting of this story takes place in one single place, but it changes throughout time. It commenced in a suburb of London called Richmond. As the story goes on his surroundings change and now is in a big house where London used to be where Eloi and Morlocks live. Lastly he ends up on a desolate beach in the distant future. The time of the story is from 1980’s throughout million years into the future. ‘The Time Machine’ takes place in many years through the world’s evolution.
Throughout the ages, outstanding physicists, to the movies, to some of the greatest science fiction novels of all time, have pondered the idea of time-travel. The thought of actually being able to travel to another time or universe has long since enthralled, enveloped, and overwhelmed some of the greatest minds in the history of physics. No one person can actually prove any of their theories, but a few actually make sense. Meaning that they do not violate the laws of physics. One of the main theories suggested, are wormholes. Wormholes are considered to connect two regions of flat space-time, two universes, or two parts of the same universe. There is a lot of theoretical evidence that wormholes exist, with an equal amount of evidence that they do not exist. However, no matter what one’s belief is, the existence of wormholes still makes you wonder…
A star will blow up with the help of gravitational collapses. When a star explodes from nuclear fusion it is because so much mass has built up within its core and it cannot hold the weight. Neutrons are the only things in nature that can stop a core implosion. When a white dwarf suffers a supernova, the energy comes from the runaway fusion of carbon and oxygen in the core.