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Black Hole - Lesson

Black holes are formed when giant stars explode at the end of their lifecycle in supernovae. If the star is massive enough, its gravity will collapse its remains into a very small, dense region where gravity is so strong that not even light can escape. Scientists know black holes exist because they can observe the effects of their powerful gravity on light and objects near them, such as bending light and absorbing nearby stars. The boundary beyond which nothing, not even light, can escape a black hole's gravitational pull is called the event horizon.

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Shweta Jain
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33 views

Black Hole - Lesson

Black holes are formed when giant stars explode at the end of their lifecycle in supernovae. If the star is massive enough, its gravity will collapse its remains into a very small, dense region where gravity is so strong that not even light can escape. Scientists know black holes exist because they can observe the effects of their powerful gravity on light and objects near them, such as bending light and absorbing nearby stars. The boundary beyond which nothing, not even light, can escape a black hole's gravitational pull is called the event horizon.

Uploaded by

Shweta Jain
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Black Holes

What is a black hole?


Black holes are one of the most mysterious and
powerful forces in the universe. A black hole is where
gravity has become so strong that nothing around it
can escape, not even light. The mass of a black hole is
so compact, or dense, that the force of gravity is too
strong for even light to escape.

Can we see them?


Black holes are truly invisible. We can't actually see
black holes because they don't reflect light. Scientists
know they exist by observing light and objects around
black holes. Strange things happen around black holes
to do with quantum physics and space time. This
makes them a popular subject of science fiction stories
even though they are very real.
How are they formed?
Black holes are formed when giant stars explode at the
end of their lifecycle. This explosion is called a
supernova. If the star has enough mass, it will collapse
on itself down to a very small size. Due to its small size
and enormous mass, the gravity will be so strong it will
absorb light and become a black hole. Black holes can
grow incredibly huge as they continue to absorb light
and mass around them. They can even absorb other
stars. Many scientists think that there are super-
massive black holes at the center of galaxies.
Event Horizon

There is a special boundary around a black hole called


an event horizon. It is at this point that everything,
even light, must go toward the black hole. There is no
escape once you've crossed the event horizon! Black
hole absorbing light
Who discovered the black hole?
The idea of the black hole was first proposed by two
different scientists in the 18th century: John Michell
and Pierre-Simon Laplace. In 1967, a physicist named
John Archibald Wheeler came up with the term "black
hole".
Fun Facts about black holes
 Black holes can have the mass of several million
suns.
 They don't live forever, but slowly evaporate
returning their energy to the universe.
 The centre of a black hole, where all its mass
resides, is a point called a singularity.
 Black holes differ from each other in mass and
their spin. Other than that, they are all very
similar.
 The black holes we know about tend to fit into two
size categories: "stellar" size is around the mass of
one star while "supermassive" are the mass of
several millions of stars. The big ones are located
at the centres of large galaxies.

Quiz
1. What powerful force allows black holes to absorb
light?
a. Nuclear fusion
b. Electromagnetism
c. Gravity
d. Nuclear bonding
e. All of the above

2. How do scientists know that black holes exist?


a. By running experiments on the Sun
b. By observing objects and light around black holes
c. By viewing black holes with powerful telescopes
d. All of the above
e. None of the Above

3. How do black holes form?


a. When planets collide
b. When nuclear bombs explode
c. When comets strike planets
d. When giant stars explode
e. When asteroids hit stars

4. Where do super massive black holes likely exist?


a. At the center of the Solar System
b. Inside gas giant planets
c. At the center of galaxies
d. All of the above
e. None of the Above

5. True or False: Black holes are invisible because they


don't reflect light.
a. TRUE
b. FALSE

6. What do we call the boundary around a black hole


where nothing can escape its gravity?
a. The Great Wall
b. Singularity
c. Supernova border
d. Pulsar
e. Event horizon

7. What is the centre of a black hole called?


a. Iris
b. Singularity
c. Supernova
d. Pulsar
e. Event horizon

8. What is it called when an aging star explodes?


a. Iris
b. Singularity
c. Supernova
d. Pulsar
e. Event horizon

9. True or False: Black holes were first discovered by


Ancient Egyptian astronomers around 3000 BCE.
a. TRUE
b. FALSE

10. What makes the gravity of a black hole so strong?


a. Its large size and small mass
b. Nuclear reactions at its core
c. It spins at a rate faster than light
d. Its small size and large

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