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When we stare at the twinkling stars, we often wonder: What is out there? The universe has puzzled mankind since time immemorial. It interests us to learn the things that we don’t see upfront or that lie well beyond our grasp. The universe is itself a mystery, captivating many scientists and common people. One of the greatest space mysteries is the black hole. This article briefly tackles how black holes form, what happens in a black hole, its types, and whether the black hole is indeed black.

How do black holes form?

A better understanding of what black holes are necessitates an understanding of how they are formed. Black holes are regions in space that are formed due to gravitational collapse of stars. Stars collapse because of their great and massive core. In a gravitational collapse, a massive body suddenly falls inward under the influence of its own gravitational forces. In the early 20th century, almost all of the scientists did not believe that it’s impossible that nature could form a black hole. But in 1939, Robert J. Oppenheimer found out that stars could become so tremendously massive that they might crash under their own mass.

What happens in a black hole?

As a result of the gravitational collapse, nothing, not even light, can pass through a black hole once it has passed the Event Horizon. It is also known as “the point of no return”, a sphere surrounding the black hole, marking the limitations of it’s gravitational pull. Enables scientists and experts to see black holes. When something is past the point of no return, this mass is sent into a never-ending spiral wherein the mass is carried to the point of singularity. Basically, singularity is a theory that states that all mass that entered black holes are compressed into a tiny point that becomes so dense. Here, all known laws of gravity and physics don’t apply. The “suction” can only be described using the controversial “string theory” and quantum physics.

What are Kerr holes?

Kerr holes are black holes that could bend time, and is possibly used for time travel, or for travel to parallel universes. It was discovered in 1963 by Roy Kerr, a New Zealand mathematician. Kerr holes are collapsed stars that are still rotating and creating enough centrifugal force. This means that singularity is highly not possible, therefore making passage through a Kerr hole theoretically possible.

What exists on a Kerr hole is believed to be a “white hole”, or the opposite of a black hole. Essentially a white hole is characterized by a field of negative energy, which pushes anything near it in opposite directions. But this theory is somewhat flawed, since many scientists and experts think that mass sucked into the black hole would be annihilated even before it reaches the singularity making travel through one very unlikely.

Are black holes black?

Are black holes really black? Yes. If you were floating outside the point of no return, you would not see it. The rays of light that come near the range to the black hole would be bent. The light rays are entrapped, disabling the light to escape. Since black holes don’t illuminate, black holes are hard and almost impossible to detect.

 

© Sciencetips 2008