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Ironclad here! I've taken up astronomy in high school and learned a little bit about the black hole being one of the deadly entities in our universe!? But it came across me that I wondered if it was possible about one being right here on earth? People say that it could tie to the bermuda triangle? But I just wanted to throw this out there to get feedback, I think its interesting to get others opinions on this! Thank you everyone!
If you learn about the physical properties of a black hole then you'll understand why having one on a planet would be impossible.
Start here: Astronomy For Kids -Black Holes - KidsAstronomy.com
Or here: http://cosmology.berkeley.edu/Education/BHfaq.html
Hello iron:Quote:
Originally Posted by ironclad04
They're not necessarily deadly either. No more so, at least, than a star that blows up. Black holes might, and probably DO contribute to the recycling of the matter in the Universe.
Without that recycling, there wouldn't be life. Your body is made up of what used to be stars.
I'll bet when we find out what black holes do, we'll find them very beneficial.
excon
Excon - I think you are referring to the concept of how the elements above Hydrogen and Helium are created and distributed throughout the universe - which is thought to largely rely on the spreading of detritus from super novae explosions. As the universe ages the newer stars and planetary systems are made up of higher percentages of the elements we rely on for life - carbon, oxygen, iron, all the way up through uranium. Our sun and solar system are believed to be third generation of this process, so in that sense we are all made of "star stuff" (as Carl Sagan used to say). But black holes do not contribute to this process. As for black holes being deadly - thinking of black holes as they exist in space (left overs from super novae) - venturing too close to a black hole would indeed kill you, science fiction stories notwithstanding. If you get anywhere near a black hole first the x-ray and gamma ray radiation from infalling material would fry you, and then the tidal forces would tear your body apart.
As for the possibility of black holes existing on earth - it is indeed possible, although we are talking about extremely small objects (not at all like black holes as they occur in space) and in fact the controversy over the CERN super collider is around the possibility of creating extremely small black holes inside the super-collider. What we are talking about are singularities weighing less than a single atom. But most scientists believe this to be unlikely, given that if black holes could be created this way we would already be seeing them as the earth is bombarded every day by gamma rays with enough energy to duplicate this process. And if they can be created like this, they would evaporate so quickly as to be harmless. At least, that's what the CERN scientists say.
Hello again, ebaines:Quote:
Originally Posted by ebaines
Well, you're certainly more educated than I am...
Of course, should we get close to a black hole, it would kill us. But, we're NOT going to get close to a black hole, so the only thing the black hole devours are inanimate objects... Yes, it "kills" them...
But... It used to be that all matter that went into a black hole disappears forever. Now, it seems that some black holes DO give off some material.
It would seem to me, that this is recycling of stuff, even if it isn't the parts that we're made up of.
I'm happy to be proven wrong, though. I LOVE this stuff. The only thing that pisses me off about dying, is that I'm going to miss the next big discovery...
excon
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