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Black Holes

Black Holes

Every day 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 elusive, 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.

By definition, a black hole is a region where matter collapses to
infinite density, and where, as a result, the curvature of space-time is extreme.
Moreover, the intense gravitational field of the black hole prevents any light
or other electromagnetic radiation from escaping. But where lies the “point of
no return” at which any matter or energy is doomed to disappear from the visible
universe?

The black hole's surface is known as the event horizon. Behind this
horizon, the inward pull of gravity is overwhelming and no information about the
black hole's interior can escape to the outer universe. Applying the Einstein
Field Equations to collapsing stars, Kurt Schwarzschild discovered the critical
radius for a given mass at which matter would collapse into an infinitely dense
state known as a singularity.

At the center of the black hole lies the singularity, where matter is
crushed to infinite density, the pull of gravity is infinitely strong, and
space-time has infinite curvature. Here it is no longer meaningful to speak of
space and time, much less space-time. Jumbled up at the singularity, space and
time as we know them cease to exist. At the...