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| A Massive Black Hole |
The mystery of Black Holes
Black holes are the most mind-blowing, strangest objects in the universe, and one of the most fascinating objects in the universe. These are places where the known laws of physics seem to break down. It is essentially an area of complete mystery. Scientists are mostly confused by them. But black holes appear to be an essential part of most galaxies. And unlocking their secrets may be the key to understanding the very fabric of our universe. So what do we know about black holes???
What is a Black Hole??
Although scientists now believe that black holes actually exist, black holes have long been predicted as a theoretical possibility. For most of the 20th century they assumed that they must exist. But by the end of that century they had not developed a method of accurate identification. Then in 2019 a global research group made a huge breakthrough. The first image of a black hole. Finally after years of wondering here was direct evidence that they existed. Admittedly the picture is a little less dramatic than the fiery tornado-like voids we see in the movies. Scientists are getting more detailed information about this strange cosmic object. But we still don't understand that much about them. Let's start with what we know. A black hole is an empty region of space where there is literally nothing at all, just a void. It's so dense there's so much gravity that nothing, not even light, can escape. We know it has different types.
Different types of Black Holes
First there are Stellar Black Holes
Stars are formed when a massive star explodes. And its outer layers explode in a supernova. These supernovae we see all the time are some of the brightest objects in the universe. Sometimes a supernova can be brighter than the entire galaxy it's inside. If the star is large enough, the remnants of its core will collapse into an infinitesimal dimensionless point. And a stellar black hole is born. So much gravity is concentrated at that point that several times the mass of our Sun is condensed into a point smaller than the tiniest bit of an atom. Imagine it's so dense it essentially rips space-time apart, creating a hole in that time. So it is a point of infinite density and that point is called a singularity. We know that stellar black holes can have three to 20 times the mass of our Sun. They sound huge, but they are nothing compared to supermassive black holes. They can be millions or billions of times the mass of the Sun. No one really knows where they came from or not yet anyway. And it is thought that most galaxies probably have a supermassive black hole at the center of all galaxies.
Can Black Holes escape Anything??
So what about the reputation that black holes are cosmic hoovers that suck up everything within its reach can be anything even a black hole. We know this is not entirely true. Not everything can be drawn if it is too far away. But if an object gets too close and it crosses what is known as the event horizon around a black hole. It is pulled towards the center singularity where gravity is infinite. At least that's the guess. What is happening at that point to create so much gravity? Well we know that if you have a lot of matter, the matter causes gravity. If you have a lot of matter at a point, there will be a lot of gravitational concentration. But about it, the singularity is probably the most mysterious thing in physics. They are like a word for something we don't understand. Despite pop culture narratives where the hero escapes the pull of a black hole. Things probably won't end well in reality. So what people think is that if you get close enough, each atom will come out one at a time. Until basically your whole ship and you are on it. Experts estimate that a line of atoms would essentially be made of pieces of spaghetti. Scientists actually call it spaghettification. This has been observed in stars as they cross the event horizon. Black holes are pulled by invincible gravitational attraction. Even light cannot escape a black hole. This means they are invisible by definition. So how do scientists identify them?
How do scientists detect Black Holes??
Black holes affect the space around them. So if they cross a star, they will deform that star. Because they will try and pull material. In 1971, it was this gravitational effect and radiation that led astronomers to detect a black hole for the first time. They determined that the X-rays were coming from a bright blue star, orbiting a strange dark object. This radiation shows that stellar material is being torn from the star. And swallowed by a black hole they label Cygnus X1. Identifying such radiation patterns is still essential to detect black holes. Around the event horizon, which extends many billions of miles around the event horizon, gas and dust particles are very strongly affected by the gravitational influence of the black hole. But there is no suction so it will spin around the black hole with a lot of energy entering it and can emit different colors including X-rays and gamma rays. Which are the strongest form of light. So when we look at the images made in collaboration with the Event Horizon Telescope. It is the light from material zoomed around the black hole that we see. It matches the models they made of what the light would look like. If it surrounds a black hole, it is bent by the black hole's gravity. In 2022, the Event Horizon team released their second image, showing the Milky Way, the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy.
How do scientists create a realistic picture of a Black Hole??
Sagittarius is a star 27,000 light years away. If you've ever seen the Interstellar film, they have a CGI of a black hole. Which was actually physically correct.!! And that's basically what they saw in these pictures was a very blurry version of it. Not as high definition as interstellar but what a black hole would look like. A star in Sagittarius is about the size of a donut in the sky. So it looks very small. Both films produced by the Event Horizon team were groundbreaking. But where a black hole's swallowed mother actually goes remains a mystery.
Why do Black Holes Defy Physics?
According to general relativity Albert Einstein's theory of gravitation nothing escapes black holes. So it consumes anything that goes to waste. In 1974, Stephen Hawking theorized that black holes emit a tiny amount of radiation. This radiation, now known as Hawking radiation, causes a black hole to slowly lose mass. And after a very very long time it finally disappeared. "Apparently all the information that fell into the black hole is lost!!!", exactly said that Stephen Hawking in a interview. But it clashes with another fundamental aspect of physics, and that important and necessary theory is quantum theory, which is a very large and useful branch of physics. It says that even if an object is mutated or destroyed. It is the quantum information detailing each particle inside an object and how it behaves that will never be lost. And this contradiction is basically called Black Hole Information Paradox. These two major theories of physics do not agree with each other. In other words to find another physical concept that includes them both. Physicists may be close to unraveling this mystery that may require an entirely new theory.
Why is Black Hole important??
It's the only way to understand some of the universe's biggest mysteries about what the universe is made of. And where it is going in the future without mentioning where it came from. These are things you can only understand if you have the more universal laws of physics. All we know is that we don't have the stuff we're looking for sitting in the middle of a black hole. So if you can figure out what's in the middle of a black hole you've basically solved physics!!!! Well maybe not all of physics but perhaps some of its most enduring questions. This is why black holes are so important in all their paradoxical mind-bending glory. They simply cannot help our understanding of the most fundamental laws of physics. But further discoveries about other strange and mysterious parts of the universe may hold the key. All the Big Bang including its beginning. Please stay with us to read more on this topic and learn about it as we have more articles on this topic.