Black Holes 

Leonardo A Pierantoni Arroyo

What is a black hole?

A black hole is an object that has a small volume with sufficient mass to create a gravitational force so strong that even light itself can’t escape it. The English geologist and philosopher John Michell with the French mathematician and astronomer Pierre-Simon Laplace argued that if an object were either extremely massive or extremely small, it might not be possible to escape its own gravity.

How are black holes are created?

Black holes are born when an object becomes incapable to resist the compressing force of its own gravity. For example, objects like our planet Earth and the Sun will never become black holes. Their gravity is incapable to overwhelm the atomic and nuclear forces of their cores. But, in more colossal objects gravity eventually wins.

Massive black holes are born with an explosion. They form when a very colossal star (at least 25 times bigger than the Sun) runs out of energy. The star explodes as a supernova. The only thing left after the bang is a black hole, usually a couple times heavier than our Sun. 

The large hardon collider. 

A 17-mile particle acceleration located in the CERN laboratory in Switzerland that might create mini black holes.

How do black holes increase size?

They grow in mass when they catch material that is within their reach. Once something enters the black hole it can’t escape. But regardless their reputation they can’t catch objects that are far away. They only swallow objects that are very close to it. They usually suck gas and dust. 

A black hole pulling gas, dust and light with his gravitational force.

Do black holes follow the gravitational laws?

Despite some people idea that black holes doesn’t obey the laws of gravity, they actually follow all laws of gravity.  Because of the laws of gravity is that black holes have all the incredible properties. Black holes are a direct consequence of gravity. Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein agreed that the most influential force in a black hole is gravity.

What happens when black holes collide?

Black holes can collide but, we never had experience of seen it. It’s the same as with all the other things they cannot escape each other gravity and can become a bigger hole. But’s like I said it’s all theoretical, because it has never been seen by us. There are known black holes in other galaxies in which two super massive black holes move dangerously close to each other. With time it’s supposed that gravity pull them together and collide. If two black holes collide they will form gravitational waves according to the fundamental prediction of Einstein theory of general relativity.

What inside a black hole? 

No one can really know what lies inside a black hole. Because nothing can’t escape his gravitational pull even if some put an explorer inside it can never communicate with us. The gravitational force will not let us hear or see the explorer it will suck the sound waves and light once it enters the black hole.

Current theories anticipate that all the matter in a black hole is accumulated in the center. But we don’t know how it works. The understanding of black holes require the combination of the theory of gravity and the study of matter in the smallest form called quantum mechanics. This combination is called quantum gravity. Future studies in quantum gravity might provide us an answer on the center of black holes

Do black holes live forever? 

It was tought that black holes couldn’t be destroyed. But now we know that black holes actually evaporate slowly handing back their energy to the universe. Thanks to Stephen Hawking and the law of quantum mechanics we know this today. Like I said before the quantum theory explains the behavior of matter in the smallest scales. It predicts that tiny particles are contiounisly created and destroyed in sub-atomic scale. Particles are destroyed until the black hole mass is decreased. But, they need an immense amount of time to loose their mass unlikely for us to see it in a lifetime.

Some theories say that a black hole is a shortcut between two distance points in the curved space-time of the Universe.

Black holes are on of the most important unsolved problems in physics.