Black Holes

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Black Holes: Infinity and Beyond

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
“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 “Theory
of Relativity”, this is because bodies with a large mass, or weight, actually
warp space (Chais...