So what is the big hoo hah about black holes in space?

[Le Jacquelope]

http://www******.com/scienceastronomy/071017-monster-bhole.html

As far as I know, black holes form from really big stars, and then they consolidate. They either merge with other black holes and grow, or they suck in other stars/gas/dust and grow by overeating.

Small black holes grow typically by merging; the monster black hole in this story, even more so; and the super huge ones like at the center of our galaxy grow by both merging and eating.

How else does it grow?

 

[keeblercrumb]

Aren't we eclectic today?

401k's to Black Holes!

I did have an answer to your query but I was concerned about further nasal spewing so I purposefully did not suggest it was feeding off of Amicus' ego. Besides... I suspect he is sleeping now and doesn't seem fair and it would only result in yet another thread being jacked off(sic) into oblivion.

Beyond that... I can only assume you are trolling (In the fishing sense... not to be confused with the actions of trolls here about) for astro-physicists because of some big brain fetish you may have.. as the rest of us mere mortals can certainly offer nothing meaningful in response; the apparent surprising existence of a massive black hole being somewhat removed from the world of opinion that we so thrive on here.

So... good luck on finding your Big Brain. I suspect I would not understand the answer if I heard it. I am, however, profoundly grateful that there are folks around who do.

-KC

 

[S-Des]

I saw a very interesting (and slightly odd-ball) show about scientists theorizing what really causes all those problems in the Bermuda Triangle. One believed that there were small black holes that caused massive magnetic disturbances (which would explain planes losing their instruments and the loss of communications) and tearing apart ships. It seems like a pretty far-fetched theory, but he managed to find a spot of serious magnetic disturbance after a day of searching (which consequently disappeared), so who knows? Sounds better than aliens.

As for the theories of black holes, I'm with KC. It's all fascinating, but far beyond my meager understanding of the science.

 

[THROBBS]

Do you know about anyone who has ever been in a black hole? Probably not... I've heard that once you've gone black, you never come back!





Black Hole: "I crush your head!" *pinch* *pinch*

 

[rgraham666]

I checked wikipedia on black holes. It matches what I knew and I learned a bit too.

 

[amicus]

http://www******.com/scienceastronomy/071017-monster-bhole.html

As far as I know, black holes form from really big stars, and then they consolidate. They either merge with other black holes and grow, or they suck in other stars/gas/dust and grow by overeating.

Small black holes grow typically by merging; the monster black hole in this story, even more so; and the super huge ones like at the center of our galaxy grow by both merging and eating.

How else does it grow?

~~~

Hmmm...the author of the article your link referenced is a 'science writer', and if you follow his bio and read some titles of other things it/she/he, has published you may make your own determination as to agenda.

As someone else already pointed out, this is esoteric knowledge that less than a hundredth of one percent of the general intellectual community has interest in.

I would suggest that a consideration be given to an understanding of just what is involved here.

Everything, from beginning to end, depends on a strict, non contradictory adherence to scientific method. All the laws of physics and mathematics must be observed and complied with as nerds tend to note any aberrations.

Any and every observation of the stellar phenomena/nen, sighs, I never remember the rules of grammar, depended first on a glass lense ground by excruciating and painstaking rigor.

Extend that to radio astronomy, the early stages, then to the present day, when telescopes left the earth and are now in orbit, aka, Hubble and Chandra, and others as we extend our vision and technology.

The so named, 'black holes' in the Universe, are simply magnetic and gravitational anomalies that we do not 'yet', fully understand, we may never fully comprehend their function in the natural laws of the universe.

One thing is that is doesn't mean a god-damned thing to any one except scientific nerds, it won't mean you pay more at the gas pump tomorrow or, at the other end, change your cosmological vision of existence in general.

My take, from a purely speculative vantage point is, that super massive black holes, are another step in the process of life and death in the universe, when old things die and new entities come into existence.

And all of that is of absolutely no consequence to any normal people, only we geeks and nerds even consider such things.

Ain't life just wunnerful?



Amicus...

 

[THROBBS]

I crush your head.

 

[amicus]

I crush your head.

~~~

And I crush your nuts, if you have any, which I doubt.

 

[THROBBS]

~~~

And I crush your nuts, if you have any, which I doubt.

heehee!
You so funny!



BTW: it's joke. A bit obscure, an "inside" joke, for those who might be familiar with a Canadian television program, "Kids in the Hall". Utilizing relative size/distance perspective, a fellow says (largely to himself) "I crush your head" while pinching his fingers around the apparently diminutive head of his "victim" in the distance.

crushed nuts, anyone?

 

[Oblimo]

The so named, 'black holes' in the Universe, are simply magnetic and gravitational anomalies that we do not 'yet', fully understand, we may never fully comprehend their function in the natural laws of the universe.

I'd love to hear what you think the phrase "natural law" means, Ami.

 

[keeblercrumb]

I'd love to hear what you think the phrase "natural law" means, Ami.

No you don't. Really.... please....

He was only kidding Amicus.

-KC

 

[shereads]

Black holes suck.

 

[cloudy]

Black holes suck.

Yep. The earth does, too.

Throbb: I got it. I crush my kids' heads all the time. They laugh.

 

[keeblercrumb]

Black holes suck.

Yes, but do they swallow?



-KC

 

[slyc_willie]

Black holes have been a continuous mode of fare for science fiction since their existence was first posited by quantum physics decades ago. Since then, however, no actual evidence has ever been discovered as to the existence of black holes.

Stephen Hawking was once a proponent of the idea of black holes as a 'gathering force' of matter and energy, which would create a singularity, which, in turn, would create a new universe in an alternate dimension. In recent years, Hawking has alternately restated his hypothesis and denounced the plausbility of their existence.

The idea that the heart of every galaxy -- including our own Milky Way -- consists of a massive black hole has been in contention for years. Considering the strength of such a black hole, and the amount of mass that would surround it, cosmological laws dictate that our galaxy would warble and flux, like a driddle before it falls over. Yet, the Milky Way remains effectively stable.

The existence of black holes remains axiomatic. They cannot be proved or disproved, only guessed at. Like the existence of planets orbitting distant suns, black holes are posited based upon the effect 'they' have on neighboring bodies.

The proof is in the showing, not telling.

 

[Le Jacquelope]

I crush your head.

That would be an exercise in redundancy.

 

[Le Jacquelope]

Yes, but do they swallow?



-KC

Oh, oh boy let's just leave that one alone.

 

[cahab]

http://www******.com/scienceastronomy/071017-monster-bhole.html

As far as I know, black holes form from really big stars, and then they consolidate. They either merge with other black holes and grow, or they suck in other stars/gas/dust and grow by overeating.

Small black holes grow typically by merging; the monster black hole in this story, even more so; and the super huge ones like at the center of our galaxy grow by both merging and eating.

How else does it grow?

It has taken a while but I think I understand your confusion now. You are confusing the nature of a black hole with the nature of something like a neutron star, that just gets bigger.

Imagine we strip away one dimension and the universe becomes 2 dimensional, like a rubber sheet stretched taut. Anything that sits on the surface of that sheet pushes the sheet downwards with its mass and causes other things to fall towards them. This is the phenomenon that we perceive as gravity.

The more mass something has the more it will cause things to fall towards it and the deeper the sheet will sag. That sagging is, however, controlled by the density of the thing on top as well: a trampoline may not sag as much with a heavy person lying down as it would with one light person standing in one spot.

So far what we're talking about is neutron stars, massively dense objects that sag the sheet deeper and deeper. However if the object is sufficiently dense it will not just sag the sheet, eventually it will snap it, and create a hole. The size of the hole will vary dependent upon the size of the object at the time it collapsed. The hole itself will not get any bigger, as the stuff going into it is either being crushed to infinity already or going somewhere else (depending on whose theories you believe).

The problem with the black hole in the story mentioned is that it is way too large to have been caused by the collapse of a normal sized star, and throws theories like these into dissaray.

 

[THROBBS]

Yep. The earth does, too.

Throbb: I got it. I crush my kids' heads all the time. They laugh.

I like you.
I like your kids.

 

[THROBBS]

...
So far what we're talking about is neutron stars, massively dense objects that sag the sheet deeper and deeper. However if the object is sufficiently dense it will not just sag the sheet, eventually it will snap it, and create a hole. The size of the hole will vary dependent upon the size of the object at the time it collapsed. The hole itself will not get any bigger, as the stuff going into it is either being crushed to infinity already or going somewhere else (depending on whose theories you believe).

Oh SHEET! it crushed my head!



(anybody followed my train of thought? I sure hope not. You see... I am fully aware of the theory of the crushing power of black holes... which folded the infinitely minuscule universe of my brain back upon itself (like a sheet, with nice neat hospital corners)... making the connection with an alternate universe where I had seen/heard the Kids in the Hall crushing heads...)


The faster we go, the denser we get!

 

[keeblercrumb]

Oh SHEET! it crushed my head!



(anybody followed my train of thought? I sure hope not. You see... I am fully aware of the theory of the crushing power of black holes... which folded the infinitely minuscule universe of my brain back upon itself (like a sheet, with nice neat hospital corners)... making the connection with an alternate universe where I had seen/heard the Kids in the Hall crushing heads...)


The faster we go, the denser we get!

Thank you. Now please return to the attic.

-KC

 

[THROBBS]

Thank you. Now please return to the attic.

-KC

shortly.

 

[keeblercrumb]

shortly.

-KC

 

[gauchecritic]

The faster we go, the denser we get!

Until we reach lightspeed when we become the universe.

And all of that is of absolutely no consequence to any normal people, only we geeks and nerds even consider such things.

Unless (and probably will) we learn to use gravity as an energy source. Then who'll be laughing? Not Throbbs, his head is crushed.

 

[THROBBS]

Until we reach lightspeed when we become the universe.



Unless (and probably will) we learn to use gravity as an energy source. Then who'll be laughing? Not Throbbs, his head is crushed.

it's.... ok... I'll be... laughing... on the... inside!