Black Hole Conclusion

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A Journey to the centre of a Black Hole! The Universe can be an unbelievably violent and extreme place. Nowhere is this seen more clearly than with the many exotic objects that can be found scattered throughout the Cosmos – from transient stellar explosions to all consuming Black Holes. What is a Black Hole? A Black Hole is a compact/ localised region of space surrounding a collapsed mass within which gravity is so powerful that neither matter nor radiation can escape – in other words, the escape velocity (see page 3) exceeds the velocity of light. Formation of Black Holes A Black Hole is thought to have been formed when a star with a certain mass undergoes total gravitational collapse. For a star with mass greater than M, gravity squashes the star to such an extent that, in theory, its density becomes infinite and its volume is zero. This state of matter is called a “singularity” and is inaccessible to the laws of physics as we understand them, in other words it breaks the laws of physics. For a Black Hole to form the solar mass of the star has to be 3 times heavier than the Sun. The gravitational field surrounding a Black Hole is so high that no radiation (including light) can escape and as a result of this it appears black due to the absence of any observable emission. ( http://www.nasa.gov. What is a black hole? September 30, 2008) General Theory of Relativity The General Theory of Relativity is the geometric theory of gravitation. This theory generalises special relativity and Newton’s law of universal gravitation, providing a united description of gravity as a geometric property of space and time (spacetime). Spacetime is any mathematical model that combines space and time into a single continuum. Albert Einstein’s resear... ... middle of paper ... ...k Holes. November 27, 2013 (online website) available at: This website helped me to understand how x-ray sources are emitted due to two 2 Black Holes being very close to one another. McEvoy, Jordan. Stephen Hawking – A graphic guide. United Kingdom: Icon Books Ltd, 1999 (journal) available at: This book helped me cover the area of Hawking Radiation, a very difficult topic area to understand. Smolin, Lee. Three Roads to Quantum Gravity. Great Britain: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2000 (journal) available at: This journal provided me with all the quotes used throughout my report. Ridpath, Ian. Astronomy Dictionary. Great Britain: George Phillip Ltd, 1995 (journal) available at: This journal provided me with all the definitions used throughout my report.

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