Theorists dictate that within a black hole resides a so-called ‘space-time singularity’ in which the laws of physics and whatever conceptions one may have of both time and space, break down.
This is one of the many reasons Black Holes have been a topic of interest for so many physicists as well as people who aren’t experts on astrophysics since its nature is so deeply shrouded in mystery. So, what exactly are Black Holes?
The Theory and Discovery
September 1st, 1939. J. Robert Oppenheimer (that’s right the father of the atomic bomb) publishes a paper called “On Continued Gravitational Contraction” which by utilizing Einstein’s theory of relativity, mathematically shows that the death of a massive, massive star can result in the formation of a Black Hole. However, it is not until the early ‘70s where the first ever Black Hole was actually discovered through X-rays emitted from superhot material that swirls around a Black Hole. Astronomers then measured the speed of the hot swirling material (which is just hot gas) and found that one side of the gas moved at 1.2 million miles per hour while the other side moved at the same speed in the opposite direction which indicates that the gas is being swirled around a tremendously powerful gravitational field. Due to this information, the astronomers realized that the center of what was being swirled around had to have an EXTREMELY high mass and that it must be compact thus, Black Holes are discovered.
The Physics of a Black Hole
The image above is a moment captured from the film ‘Interstellar’ (2014) which as accurately as possible, visualizes an event horizon (the space around a Black Hole) since theoretical physicist Kip Thorne helped the visual effects team to ensure that the Black Hole would look realistic.
In simplest terms, Black Holes are really, really dense. They’re formed by the death of giant stars and in fact the bigger the star, the more violent its demise which results in a Black Hole. The gravity within Black Holes is so concentrated that it swallows basically everything, including light. Which is why it’s impossible to actually see black holes but if that’s the case then what on earth is the image above showing? Well, it’s 2 things. One is the fact that Black Holes can technically be “seen” because of the fact that the strong gravitational field affects anything near it (so matter around it may appear warped) and the other is the accretion disk. This is the main light source emitted from Black Holes as they’re consuming the matter around them due to its gravity and as mentioned before it’s basically rapidly spinning gas. These typically form from the death of stars near the black hole which explains its luminosity and high temperature.
Finally, we go back to the space time singularity. Given that a solid grasp of relativity and quantum mechanics is required to even fully comprehend a concept such as this, all there is to say really is that at the center of a black hole there is a singularity, and this is where gravity and density is so great that everything seems to break down and not make logical sense. No one has any definitive proof that this singularity even exists and what would even occur in such conditions but more importantly WHY it happens. At the end of the day, it’s theory. But the range of possibilities is infinite and who knows, perhaps you would travel to a five-dimensional space and end up in your daughter’s bookshelf just like in ‘Interstellar’. We will never know.
Not yet.
Bibliography: https://hubblesite.org/mission-and-telescope/hubble-30th-anniversary/hubbles-exciting-universe/finding-supermassive-black-holes
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