The Mysteries Surrounding Black Holes
Even Stephen Hawking would agree: their name is perfect, and we're all still confused.
Black holes are probably the strangest thing in existence. For many reasons, they don't seem to really make sense at all.
Black holes are formed when a star stars, which in their core contains nuclear fusion crushing hydrogen atoms into helium, producing a mighty amount of energy. This energy pushes against gravity, maintaining a delicate balance between gravity and radiation. For stars much larger than our own sun, the heat and pressure at the core allows them to fuse heavier elements until eventually, they reach iron. Iron then builds up at the core until breaking the delicate balance, leading to the core callusing in on itself leading to a supernova explosion - resulting in a neutron star or if the star is gargantuan enough, a black hole.
At this point, nothing faster than the speed of light would have a chance of escaping. Not even light itself! This leads to a basic but essential question: what exactly is inside a black hole? What's on the other side?
Famed physicist Stephen Hawking theorized that even though nothing can escape a black hole because of its immense pressure, it can secrete radiation. This theory works because of quantum mechanics. To simplify the theory; Hawking stated that when a black hole consumes a particle/antiparticle pair, the other particle bounces back into space while also taking a bite of the black holes as well as it escapes. This happens repeatedly, eating away at the monster until eventually disappearing, leaving behind only electromagnetic radiation of 'Hawking radiation.' Even so, we still would have no clue as to what happens to the objects that enter or where they go... and I don't know about you but I'm not willing to accept that whatever goes in is simply gone forever.
I mean, if the rules of quantum mechanics are all bullshit for black holes then why do we have to follow them?
Hawking touched on this subject again by expressing his thought of black holes possibly having a halo of hair-like particles that store information (which also sounds ideal universally). While it wouldn't be any type of hair you're imaging, it would be 'quantum excitations' that collect a pattern of EVERYTHING that a black hole comes in contact with. Like a pattern on your fingertips, or song waves on a vinyl record.
While Hawking admits that his previous theory on all statistics inside a black hole would disappear forever was wrong, his new theory is promising and also extremely strange. It personally brings my attention to energy, and why once it is created, cannot be destroyed no matter the pressure or gravity it comes in contact with. The paradox continues...
About the Creator
Sarah McDaniel
Bringing the strange and scientific to your smartphone. @krotchy
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