Human Curiosity

A Black Hole, as presently understood, is best described by Einstein's theory of General Relativity. This theory predicts that when a large amount of mass is present within a sufficiently small region of space, all paths through space become warped inward toward the center, forcing all matter and radiation to fall inward.

A black hole is an object from which nothing can escape, not even light. Some dying stars produce the most common type of Black Holes. The normal life of a star is a constant tug of war between gravity pulling in and pressure pushing out.

During most of the star's life, there is a balance between these two forces and this is what helps the star remain stable. Eventually a star can run out of its nuclear fuel, in which gravity gains the upper hand. The material within the star becomes more compressed. If the core is massive, there is a greater force of gravity compressing the star's material. This can lead to a total collapse of the star.

When a very massive star uses its total nuclear fuel, it then explodes as a supernova. The outer region of this massive star expels violently into space and the core continues to collapse under its own weight. This massive core would need to be at least twenty times more massive than our Sun.

The collapsed star has virtually zero volume. It is then said to have Infinite Density; often referred to as a Singularity. To escape the newly formed Black Hole would require a velocity that is quicker than the speed of light.

The distance from which the escape velocity is equal to the speed of light is the Event Horizon. Once something crosses the Event Horizon, it is forever lost (at least as far as human knowledge knows of).

Only stars with large masses can become Black Holes.

Three types of Black Holes may exist: Stellar, Supermassive, and Miniature Black Holes.

Stellar Black Holes are formed from stars.

Supermassive Black Holes most likely exist in the center of galaxies, including the Milky Way. The mass of these Black Holes can equal a billion Suns. When a galaxy is extremely populated and the Black Holes engulf more stars or planets, the result is a more massive Black Hole. Sometimes, two jets of hot gas can be seen and it is as though they are being expelled from the Black Hole's center.

The creation of Miniature Black Holes may have formed shortly after the "Big Bang", but this is still open to theory. The facts on Miniature Black Holes have yet to be discovered.

Miniature Black Holes may have formed shortly after the "Big Bang," which is thought to have started the Universe about 15 billion years ago. Very early in the life of the Universe the rapid expansion of some matter might have compressed slower-moving matter enough to contract into black holes. So far, however, there is no observational evidence for miniature black holes (Truth About Black Holes).

Black Holes can be detected if they interact with matter outside the event horizon, for example by drawing in gas from an orbiting star.