Black Holes Essay -- essays research papers fc

If theories of their existence are true, black holes are the most powerful force in the known physical universe. Many people are familiar with the term black hole, but few people actually know anything about them. A black hole forms as a result of a massive star running out of fuel to burn (Chaisson, 193). Once the star is no longer exerting outward force by burning off gases, it begins to collapse under it’s own intense, inward gravity (Chaisson, 193). It is like slowly letting the air out of a balloon. Once the star is compacted to a certain size, while it’s mass, or weight, remains the same, it’s gravity becomes so powerful that nothing can escape it (Hawking, 87). This critical size to weight ratio is known as the Schwarzchild Radius (Hawking, 87). Once a black hole is created in this way, an invisible area, or line around it exists. If any object crosses this line, it can no longer escape the gravitational force of the black hole (Hawking, 87). This line is called the event horizon (Hawking, 87). If black holes are proven to exist, beyond theoretical physics, then they would probably be a very common anomaly in this universe. In 1915, Albert Einstein put forth the first real proposition of such an anomaly in his â€Å"Theory of Relativity† (Bunn, Black Holes FAQ). In the 1930s, three physicists, doctors Volkoff, Snyder and Oppenheimer, were able to prove the validity of black holes mathematically. Since then, black holes have become a very important and integral part of science and the over all understanding of the universe. It has been proven, mathematically, that black holes have infinite, gravity based, escape velocities and an immense effect on light, time and even the very fabric of space. All bodies in space have gravity. According to Einstein’s â€Å"Theory of Relativity†, this is because bodies with a large mass, or weight, actually warp space (Chaisson, 77). For example, if a two dimensional sheet of cloth, stretched and suspended at four corners, represents space, and a bowling ball is placed in the center, the sheet will warp downward. If a golf ball is then set at the edge of the sheet and allowed to move freely it will be attracted toward the bowling ball, unless the golf ball is traveling at a speed great enough to not be effected by the curve. This critical speed is known as an escape velocity. This is the speed at which an object must travel to e... ... the equations are valid, wormholes most assuredly do not exist. If they did it would probably send shivers up the science fiction community’s spine. In the book, Relatively Speaking, the Author, Eric Chaisson says, â€Å"The world of science is littered with mathematically elegant theories that apparently have no basis in reality† (182). Although black holes have not been conclusively proven to exist, there is strong evidence, in the observable universe, that they do. Black holes are very important to the world of cosmology. They allow for the study of common particles under very uncommon environmental variables. Scientists have vastly increased their knowledge of the universe and the properties of matter through the study of a black holes effects on light, time and the fabric of the space. Works Cited Bunn, Ted â€Å"Black Holes FAQ.† NSF Science and Technology Center (September 1995): Online. Internet. http://physics7.berkeley.edu/Bhfaq.HTML Chaisson, Eric. Relatively Speaking: Relativity, Black Holes, and the Fate of the Universe. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1988. Hawking, Stephen. A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes. New York: Bantam Books, 1988. Manthe 5