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Thread Statistics | Show CCP posts - 2 post(s) |
Pwyle Kenobi
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Posted - 2005.11.29 01:51:00 -
[1]
I'm keeping this very simple. This is not the complete story. I just want to correct 3 apparent misunderstandings.
1. A black hole is not a hole. It is an object similar to a super-dense neutron star. It is composed of so much matter (degenerate matter) that it collapses under it's own gravity to the point that molecular bonds break and you have a slurry of quantum particles. Then things get really weird! Quantum mechanics will turn your understanding of the universe upside-down and inside out.
2. A black hole is not a singularity. It has volume. The volume is small by comparison to it's mass, but in terms that we are familiar with in normal life the volume is huge! For example, Sagittarius A* (the super-massive black hole at the centre of our own Milky Way galaxy) has the mass of several million times the mass of our Sun squashed down into a spherical space roughly estimated to be the same dimension of our own solar-system.
3. Not all matter is lost forever to a black hole. Some matter never makes it all the way to the point that it is crushed into a quantum state and it instead follows the surrounding magnetic field to be jetted out either magnetic pole for light years distance! Even more bizarre, Hawkin's has demonstrated that it is theoretically possible for matter to be spontaneously created in the radiation field surrounding a black hole!
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Pwyle Kenobi
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Posted - 2005.11.29 04:53:00 -
[2]
 Originally by: Baldour Ngarr
Originally by: Dark Shikari
No, it doesn't have volume. The hole itself is merely the singularity...
There IS no hole. This is why it's such a silly name, but I guess we're stuck with it. After all, we still call oxygen oxygen, and that name was demonstrably wrong more than two centuries ago.
Anyway.
The black hole, silly name or not, is considered to be everything inside the event horizon. It therefore has considerable volume; in fact, it's arguable that the entire Universe is in fact the inside of a black hole. That would certainly explain why the Universe doesn't have any detectable "outside."
@Avon: I didn't say the information was destroyed ... it just cannot be transmitted to anyone outside. Things may leak out via quantum disturbances, but that's NOT going to be usable to send anyone a message saying "hey, it's fun in here, bring some more beer."
Dark Shikari: The highlighted section is the second point I was trying to make. I guess I rushed and didn't do a very good job. I won't quit my day job anytime soon!   
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Pwyle Kenobi
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Posted - 2005.11.29 23:06:00 -
[3]
Originally by: Eris Discordia
Go fight it out ingame with handbags and frigates, but stop bickering on the forums when I'm on duty so to speak.
It leads to Nietzsche btw
But Eris, it's so much fun when science geeks and gurus bicker and fight about scientific theories (especially when those theories can't be conclusively proved (ie. can't directly measure and observe BH's)).
Let's stir the pot and put the cat amongst the pigeons ..... "There's no such thing as black holes!"  
BTW, I've always thought that "Nietzsche" would be a good name for a cat.
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Pwyle Kenobi
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Posted - 2005.11.30 01:02:00 -
[4]
Originally by: Thomus
Originally by: Dark Shikari
Originally by: Pwyle Kenobi
(ie. can't directly measure and observe BH's)).
Sure we can. Point a telescope at one, measure radiation.
Yeah, they do emit radiation apparently
Isn't the detectable radiation from the accretion disc and pole jets? That is, the surrounding matter is reacting to the BH. This really is an interesting topic, no matter what Eris thinks!
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Pwyle Kenobi
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Posted - 2005.11.30 01:14:00 -
[5]
Originally by: Dark Shikari
Yes, but the accretion jets are produced by the hole itself 
Yep. Produced by the BH but not part of the BH itself. We can detect the influence on the surrounding matter.
I think we need a Scientific Theories and Discussion section in these forums!
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Pwyle Kenobi
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Posted - 2005.12.01 00:01:00 -
[6]
Originally by: Amitious Turkey
... wouldnt we be spinning toward one like crazy?
Sagittarius A* is a very powerful gravity attractor at the centre of our own Milky Way galaxy and is thought to be a super dense black hole. "Sagittarius A* is amazingly faint in x-rays in comparison to central black holes observed in distant galaxies, even during its frequent x-ray flares. This suggests that this supermassive black hole has been starved by a lack of infalling material." Credit - Fred Baganoff & Mark Morris. So our backyard black hole has slowed down how fast it is eating ..... for now. However, it's gravity is still causing matter to spiral towards it.
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