Short Wave The Curious Case Of The Supermassive Black Hole
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Jul 30, 2024 In this discussion, Priya Natarajan, an acclaimed astrophysicist at Yale University and a key figure in exploring black holes, dives into their enigmatic nature. She reveals how supermassive black holes, once shrouded in mystery, are now understood to play a crucial role in galaxy formation. Priya also tackles the mind-boggling concepts of spaghettification and gravitational lensing, offering a unique glimpse into the extreme physics at work. Discover the recent breakthroughs that have revolutionized our understanding of these cosmic giants!
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Black Holes: A Theoretical Beginning
- Black holes first emerged theoretically from Einstein's equations, describing the universe as a four-dimensional fabric.
- Matter creates 'potholes' in this fabric, and a black hole is a 'puncture' where an object's mass is incredibly compact.
Types of Black Holes
- Black holes vary in size, from stellar to supermassive, each having an event horizon.
- The event horizon is a boundary around the singularity, beyond which gravity pulls everything inwards.
Falling into a Black Hole
- Falling into a stellar-mass black hole leads to 'spaghettification' due to the intense gravity difference across the body.
- A supermassive black hole offers a 'gentler' demise, with visual distortions before darkness.