Analysis of Black Holes

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Black Holes: Warping Spacetime

A black hole is one of the most fantastic things ever predicted by modern science. It is a place where gravity is so strong that nothing --not even light-- can escape. It is a place where gravity is so strong that a hole has been rent in the very fabric of space and time. Surrounding this yawning chasm is a 'horizon' in the geometry of space where time itself stands still. And inside this hole, beyond this horizon, the directions of space and time are interchanged.

There are wormholes to other universes, time tunnels and time machines that would bring you back to where you started before you left. There is antigravity beyond the hole's center. And around the hole, there are regions where you have to travel at the speed of light in order to remain in the same place(Kaufmann ix).

Scientists say that the Milky Way may contain 3,000 to 5,000 black holes(Cowen 167). A black hole may be formed from a white dwarf star. A white dwarf is a dead star that has collapsed. When a star collapses the Pauli exclusion principle must be understood: "Two electrons cannot occupy the same place at the same time"(Kaufmann 29). The principle identifies the Chandrasekhar limit, also known as degenerate electron pressure, which states that all white dwarfs must contain less than 1.4 solar masses(Kaufmann 36). When a white dwarf stops collapsing, it is stable and doesn't contract anymore because that would try to force electrons to occupy the same place(Kaufmann 47). The gravitational fields are so strong that atoms crashing on a white dwarf are traveling so fast that upon impact they emit x-rays(Kaufmann 36).

A black hole may also be formed from a neutron star. A neutron star is an ...

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...awesome power. To understand the secrets of atoms and galaxies is to become like the gods. And we fly to the moon, light the fires of the stars, and perhaps someday probe a black hole. Whether we use these abilities for the betterment of humanity or for the devastation of our planet is entirely a matter of our own free choice. The profound laws of nature are not evil. Only our intentions and motivations are sometimes malevolent. This is why it is so important to have an informed public. Only with an enlightened electorate do we stand a chance to make intelligent decisions(Kaufmann x).

WORKS CITED

Cowen, R. "X-rays From Dim Space Hint at a Black Hole." Science News 12 Sept. 1992: 167.

"A Friendly Black Hole." Discover Aug. 1992: 12.

Kaufmann, William J., III. Black Holes and Warped Spacetime. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company, 1979.

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