Black Holes

A black hole is a celestial body in space that has such high gravity that not even light can escape. Little is known about them because scientists have a very hard time observing them. But, they do have an understanding on how they are created, their structure, and have an idea of what would happen if a human were to travel inside one. This said, they are very important to understand in our quest to understand the true nature of the universe.

            There are three main types of black holes, all classified by their mass. The Primordial Black Hole is the smallest. They have about the same mass as a mountain, but are packed into the size of an atom. The next size up is the Stellar Black Hole. As far as we know, the Stellar Black Hole is the most common type of black hole. The Stellar Black Hole has a mass of up to twenty times the mass of the Sun and an average diameter of about sixteen kilometers. The largest kind of black hole is called a Supermassive Black Hole. The mass of a Supermassive Black Hole is about one million times that of the Sun. These can have a diameter equal to that of our solar system, and for the most part, reside in the center of every galaxy.

A black hole has three main parts: The Singularity, the Event Horizon, and the Schwarzschild Radius. The Singularity of a black hole contains all the mass of the black hole at almost zero volume. This makes them nearly infinitely dense, which goes to create a gigantic gravitational force. The Event Horizon is the “point of no return” of a black hole. Once crossed, nothing can escape, even light. The Schwarzschild Radius is the radius of the Event Horizon. 

            A Stellar Black Hole is created when a star at least about two and eight tenths times larger than our Sun implodes. Normally, this occurs shortly after it begins to create iron in its core through nuclear fusion. This is because all other elements fused before iron release radiation as they are fused. Because iron doesn’t, it uses a lot more energy and builds up faster than previous elements. Eventually, the star will die, creating a supernova, and subsequently, a black hole.

            If a human were to enter a black hole, they would most certainly die. Once past the event horizon, time would appear to speed up around you. If you didn’t die from all the energy hitting you at superfast speeds from outside, you would be sucked in. You would experience Spaghettification. Going in feet first, the gravity at your feet would be hundreds of times stronger than at your head. In a supermassive black hole, you would be stretched kilometers long and nanometers thin. Eventually, your cells would be torn apart in the immense gravity, but by then, you would be dead.

Sources

https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-is-a-black-hole-58.html

https://goo.gl/stvMEO

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http://minerva.union.edu/vianil/web_stuff2/Structure_of_Black_Holes.htm

http://www.physicsoftheuniverse.com/topics_blackholes_theory.html

https://giphy.com/gifs/space-nasa-black-hole-r6TMBbTRPQbHW

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https://giphy.com/gifs/animation-loop-VJNE0l0s900ms

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2014/03/black-holes-einstein-star-eaters/  

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/physics/are-black-holes-real/