Understanding Black Holes Our solar system consists of ten planets revolving around the Sun. The Sun serves as a magnet that uses its gravitational pull to hold the solar system together. If the Sun were to disappear, what would hold the planets together? The answer might be a black hole. A black hole is a theorized body whose gravity is so strong that even light can’t escape from within it (Shipman 64). If light can’t escape from a black hole, then it must be invisible - therefore how can we know that the black holes exist? How do they form and where can we find them? This paper will discuss the theory behind the black holes and physical evidence of their existence. In order to understand black hole’s properties better, lets review basic principles of gravity. Lets assume that a person standing on a planet’s surface throws a rock in the air. The rock will rise up to a point until the gravity will pull it back, making the rock fall. If the person will throw rock hard enough, it will escape planet’s gravity. The speed at which the rock will leave a gravitational pull of a planet is called the “escape velocity”. The escape velocity differs on the planet’s mass; the more mass the planet has – the higher escape velocity will be. A black hole has so much mass concentrated in a small radius that its escape velocity is greater than the velocity of light (Bunn). Since it is impossible for anything to travel faster than light, it means that nothing can escape a black hole (Gribbin and White 75). Black holes may form after a star is overwhelmed by its gravitational force, that it can’t keep from collapsing. During their lifetime stars remain at a constant size, because they contain a balance of forces: heat generated by burning nuclear... ... middle of paper ... ...because suspected nearest black hole is 10,000 light years away. For now we can only observe at great distance the effect that black holes impose on surrounding space. Bibliography: Bunn, Ted. “Black Holes Frequently Asked Questions.” http://physics7.berkeley.edu/BHfaq.html#q5 (Sept 1995). Compton’s Multimedia Encyclopedia. Version 2.0P. CD-ROM. Compton’s Learning Company, 1991. Eisenhamer, Jonathan and Levay, Zolt. “Hubble Provides Multiple Views of How to Feed a Black Hole. ” http://oposite.stsci.edu /pubinfo/pr/1998/14 (14 May 1998). Gribbin, John and White, Michael. Stephen Hawking - A Life in Science. London: Penguin Books, Ltd., 1992. Ferris, Timothy. Physics, Astronomy, and Mathematics. New York: Back Bay Books, 1991. Shipman, Harry. Black Holes, Quasars, and the Universe. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1976.
Black holes are thought to be a portal to another dimension or a way for time to slip. Mainly all these theories follow the laws of physics and do not cross any illogical possibilities. For a way in which we can achieve any of these would be through many more years of research. If even physically possible for any of these hypotheses to coexist with one another. Learning that there’s a possible way for black holes to allow time to lapse or elapse. The study has been a challenge, finding ways in which these ideas could work. Theories about space time are not always true, but they allow us to have an improved understanding towards the, what ifs.
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:
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. If the star is big enough and the pressure inside quickly disappears, gravity would and should slingshot the star into a tiny point with near infinite density with an extremely strong gravitatio...
The origins of the super-massive black holes which concludes how they were formed and what caused them to form is an unsolved problem which is yet a mystery of astrophysics. ( Millis 2014)
You would have most recently seen and heard of black hole in Christopher Nolan’s hit movie Interstellar, and felt like a nasty bouncer above the head? Well, there is a simple explanation to what black holes are and how do they exist.
Black holes are points in space where there are extreme gravitational pulls that prevent anything, including light, from escaping. The reason for such a strong gravitational pull is due to vast amounts of matter being contained in a small amount of space. Stellar black holes form from stars with a mass greater than 20 solar masses and can be a result of gravitational collapse. Gravitational collapse is a result of the star’s internal pressure not being able to resist the stars own gravity. When the star is exhausted of its nuclear fuel such that it cannot maintain a high enough temperature it will begin to collapse under its own weight (Seidel 2011). As the star collapses it causes a supernova which blasts the outer layers of the star into space while the core completely collapses under its own weight. If the remnant core left behind exceeds 3 solar masses there are no known forces that can prevent the core from completely collapsing into a black hole (p. 568 Bennett et al. 2013)
...ke for instance the two images below. The first is a two-dimensional representation of the gravity of a normal star. Imagine any object floating through space as a marble. Said marble rolling along the flat surface of the space will roll into the indentation made by the sun's gravity. If you flick the marble hard enough, it can roll out of the indentation and roll away. The second pic is a representation of the gravity made by a black hole. Notice that if the marble rolls into the hole, there's no way it can get out, since there is no end to the hole.
According to Google.com, an Einstein-Rosen Bridge wormhole is a “hypothetical connection between widely separated regions of space-time.”. A traversable wormhole is a vortex that acts like a shortcut. The difference between an Einstein-Rosen Bridge and a traversable wormhole is that once you pass through a Einstein-Rosen Bridge wormhole, there is no going back, while a traversable wormhole is one that you can travel through freely, passing back and forth. “Wormholes are the solution to Einstein's general relativity field equation, but have been created by theory.”, says nasa.gov.
Since elementary school, I have been fascinated with the field of astronomy and have enjoyed learning, researching, and reading about this topic, purely to satisfy my own intellectual curiosity. I began visiting our school planterium and eventually found myself venturing into research on complicated celestial bodies such as black holes, quasars, and pulsars. Though my school does not offer courses on astronomy, I pursued topics of relevance such as calculus and physics, thus enabling me to delve deeper into topics at a collegiate level which are interrelated to astronomy.
What is a black hole? A black hole is a great amount of matter packed into a very small area. Think of it this way: imagine our sun compacted into Austin, Texas. Phenomenal cosmic power in an itty-bitty living space.
To first understand a black hole, you must understand how it is created. Most black holes are produced by dying stars that have a mass twenty times greater than our sun. A star eventually becomes a black hole because the energy and pressure pushing outward is overcome by gravity that pushes inward. For big stars the gravity force causes a star to collapse under its own weight. The star then will explode as a supernova and some outer parts of the star are sent out into space. The core is still intact, and if it has collapsed under its own weight, it will have formed a star. This core is said to have nearly zero volume, but with infinite density, known as a singularity.
Black Holes The term black hole was first used in 1969 by the American scientist
Black holes are objects so dense that not even light can escape their gravity, and since nothing can travel faster than light, nothing can escape from inside a black hole. Loosely speaking, a black hole is a region of space that has so much mass concentrated in it that there is no way for a nearby object to escape its gravitational pull. Since our best theory of gravity at the moment is Einstein's general theory of relativity, we have to delve into some results of this theory to understand black holes in detail, by thinking about gravity under fairly simple circumstances.
Every day we look into the night sky, wondering and dreaming what lies beyond our galaxy. Within our galaxy alone, there are millions upon millions of stars. This may be why it interests us to learn about all that we cannot see. Humans have known the existence of stars since they have had eyes, and see them as white glowing specks in the sky. The mystery lies beyond the white glowing specks we see but, in the things we cannot see in the night sky such as black holes.
“Sheltered as we are by Earth's atmosphere and magnetic field, which deflect lethal radiation from space, we are like coddled children who have never ventured into a tough neighborhood” (Folger 2). Humans have been fascinated with space since the beginning of our time. Just like children and rough neighborhoods, we have tackled obstacle over obstacle to make it home again. In the end, we have a better knowledge and strength than before. The future of space exploration can assist us in answering the everlasting question of how the universe came to be. The more we explore the infinite galaxies, the more we can scientifically discover and create new technologies as science advances. As we continue to discover, we can create new fields and occupations for aspiring young students like myself.