Nicole Hoehle, Brandon Moody, Danielle Evers

Summary Paper: Black Holes

http://scienceblogs.com/startswithabang/upload/2009/11/believe_it_or_not_a_black_hole/black-holes.jpg

Black holes are regions of space that are full of concentrated mass. Theoretically, there is

no way for a nearby object to escape it’s gravitational pull. Not even light can escape a black

hole, hence the title. There is a certain point of no return, and this is called the Event Horizon.

For something to escape, they would have to more faster than the speed of light. The Singularity

is the exact point of destruction in a black hole. However, a person would be long dead before

they would be able to reach it.

Most holes are formed from the death of large stars, mostly larger than the size of our

sun. This happens because the star has run out of fuel and cannot sustain it’s nuclear reaction.

The star eventually has more gravity and is compacted. It is in a state in which it eats itself.

There is then nothing left but a hole in the “fabric” of space time, created by the gravity left over

from the star. This is also known as a black hole.

Another fact about a black hole is that it can evaporate. The black holes can get smaller

and smaller until there is nothing left. the reason that this happens is because of the fact that
black holes emit radiation. The black hole gradually shrinks as it emits this radiation. It also turns

out that the rate of radiation increases as the mass decreases. This is why the black hole will

eventually disappear entirely.

One common question is, how do we know that black holes are there if we can’t see

them? The answer to this is that we can see how they interact with matter around it. We can asses

it’s gravitational pull as we see matter being drawn towards it. You can also detect the radiation

coming from the area near a black hole with some of our technology today.

If you were to fall into a black hole, some things would happen. First of all, think of it as

if you are near a black hole, free falling through space. At first you would feel nothing as you

floated towards it. However, after a certain distance, you would feel more of a pull on your feel

than your head, depending on which was closer to the black hole. This will begin as a small

discomfort but eventually will rip you in half. This process will go more quickly the smaller the

black holes are. Black holes can vary immensely in size! There is even one in our galaxy, the

milky way. Don’t be worried about one sucking us up though, because there is only so far that

the gravitational pull of a black hole goes. Also rest assured that our sun does not plan on

becoming a black hole anytime soon. It is not a large enough star, and also does not show any

sign of destruction.

Sources Used:

Rebecchi, Daniel. "Black Hole Facts." Web. 02 Apr. 2010.

Bunn, Ted. "BLACK HOLES." Berkeley Cosmology Group. Sept. 1995. Web. 05 Apr. 2010.

"HubbleSite: Black Holes: Gravity's Relentless Pull." HubbleSite -- Out of the Ordinary...out of This World. Web. 05

Apr. 2010.