Black Hole

Everyday we look out upon the night sky, wondering and dreaming of what

lies beyond our planet. The universe that we live in is so diverse and

unique, and it interests us to learn about all the variance that lies

beyond our grasp. Within this marvel of wonders our universe holds a

mystery that is very difficult to understand because of the complications

that arise when trying to examine and explore the principles of space. That

mystery happens to be that of the ever clandestine, black hole.

This essay will hopefully give you the knowledge and understanding of

the concepts, properties, and processes involved with the space phenomenon

of the black hole. It will describe how a black hole is generally formed,

how it functions, and the effects it has on the universe.

In order to understand what exactly a black hole is, we must first take

a look at the basis for the cause of a black hole. All black holes are

formed from the gravitational collapse of a star, usually having a great,

massive, core. A star is created when huge, gigantic, gas clouds bind

together due to attractive forces and form a hot core, combined from all

the energy of the two gas clouds. This energy produced is so great when it

first collides, that a nuclear reaction occurs and the gases within the

star start to burn continuously. The Hydrogen gas is usually the first

type of gas consumed in a star and then other gas elements such as Carbon,

Oxygen, and Helium are consumed.

This chain reaction fuels the star for millions or billions of years

depending upon the amount of gases there are.

The star manages to avoid collapsing at this point because of the

equilibrium achieved by itself. The gravitational pull from the core of

the star is equal to the gravitational pull of the gases forming a type of

orbit, however when this equality is broken the star can go into several

different stages.

Usually if the star is small in mass, most of the gases will be

consumed while some of it escapes. This occurs because there is not a

tremendous gravitational pull upon those gases and therefore the star

weakens and becomes smaller. It is then referred to as a White Dwarf. If

the star was to have a larger mass however, then it may possibly Supernova,

meaning that the nuclear fusion within the star simply goes out of control

causing the star to explode. After exploding a fraction of the star is

usually left (if it has not turned into pure gas) and that fraction of the

star is known as a neutron star.

A black hole is one of the last option that a star may take. If the

core of the star is so massive (approximately 6-8 solar masses; one solar

mass being equal to the sun's mass) then it is most likely that when the

star's gases are almost consumed those gases will collapse inward, forced

into the core by the gravitational force laid upon them.

After a black hole is created, the gravitational force continues to

pull in space debris and other type of matters to help add to the mass of

the core, making the hole stronger and more powerful.

Most black holes tend to be in a consistent spinning motion. This

motion absorbs various matter and spins it within the ring (known as the

Event Horizon) that is formed around the black hole. The matter keeps

within the Event Horizon until it has spun into the centre where it is

concentrated within the core adding to the mass. Such spinning black holes

are known as Kerr Black Holes.

Most black holes orbit around stars due to the fact that they once were

a star, and this may cause some problems for the neighboring stars. If a

black hole gets powerful enough it may actually pull a star into it and

disrupt the orbit of many other stars. The black hole could then grow even

stronger (from the star's mass) as to possibly absorb another.

When a black hole absorbs a star, the star is first pulled into the

Ergosphere, which sweeps all the matter into the Event Horizon, named for

it's flat horizontal appearance and because this happens to be the place

where mostly all the action within the black hole occurs. When the star is

passed on into the Event Horizon the light that the star endures is bent

within the current and therefore cannot be seen in space. At this exact

point in time, high amounts of radiation are given off, that with the

proper equipment can be detected and seen as an image of a black hole.

Through this technique astronomers now believe that they have found a black

hole known as Cygnus X1. This supposed black hole has a huge star orbiting

around it, therefore we assume there must be a black hole that it is in

orbit with.

The first scientists to really take an in depth look at black holes and

the collapsing of stars, were a professor, Robert Oppenheimer and his

student Hartland Snyder, in the early nineteen hundreds. They concluded on

the basis of Einstein's theory of relativity that if the speed of light was

the utmost speed over any massive object, then nothing could escape a black

hole once in it's clutches. **(1)

The name "black hole" was named such, because of the fact that light

could not escape from the gravitational pull from the core, thus making the

black hole impossible for humans to see without using technological

advancements for measuring such things like radiation. The second part of

the word was named "hole" due to the fact that the actual hole, is where

everything is absorbed and where the centre core presides. This core is

the main part of the black hole where the mass is concentrated and appears

purely black on all readings even through the use of radiation detection

devices.

Just recently a major discovery was found with the help of a device

known as The Hubble Telescope. This telescope has just recently found what

many astronomers believe to be a black hole, after being focused on an star

orbiting empty space. Several picture were sent back to Earth from the

telescope showing many computer enhanced pictures of various radiation

fluctuations and other diverse types of readings that could be read from

the area in which the black hole is suspected to be in.

Several diagrams were made showing how astronomers believe that if

somehow you were to survive through the centre of the black hole that there

would be enough gravitational force to possible warp you to another end in

the universe or possibly to another universe. The creative ideas that can

be hypothesized from this discovery are endless.

Although our universe is filled with much unexplained, glorious,

phenomenon, it is our duty to continue exploring them and to continue

learning, but in the process we must not take any of it for granted.

As you have read, black holes are a major topic within our universe and

they contain so much curiosity that they could possibly hold unlimited

uses. Black holes are a sensation that astronomers are still very puzzled

with. It seems that as we get closer to solving their existence and

functions, we just end up with more and more questions.

Although these questions just lead us into more and more unanswered

problems we seek and find refuge into them, dreaming that maybe one day,

one far off distant day, we will understand all the conceptions and we will

be able to use the universe to our advantage and go where only our dreams

could take us.

References For Into The Depths of a Black Hole

**(1): Parker, Barry. Colliding Galaxies. PG#96