KOMPAS.com – Since the beginning of the 20th century, the concept of black holes has become one of the most mysterious and interesting phenomena in the world of physics.
Black holes are objects with gravity so strong that even light cannot penetrate them.
What is the history of the discovery of black holes, their development, and their role in our understanding of the universe?
Also read: How is the process of forming a black hole or black hole?
Black hole concept
The concept of black holes first appeared in the general theory of relativity formulated by Albert Einstein in 1915.
This theory explains how gravity is related to space, time and matter. However, Einstein himself had doubts about the idea of black holes.
To him, this concept felt unconvincing and did not seem to correspond to the real world.
Over time, a scientist named Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar from India played an important role in changing the view of black holes.
In 1930, Chandrasekhar realized that when a giant star passes the final stages of its life and runs out of nuclear fuel, the gravitational pressure of the remaining mass can cause the star to collapse into a very small, dense object.
This is the starting point in thinking about the formation of black holes.
The roles of Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose
In the 1960s, renowned physicists Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose proved that the singularities that became known as black holes were a natural result of the evolution of massive stars.
They developed a theorem showing that black holes must form as a result of the collapse of massive stars.
As a result of this discovery, the view of black holes changed from extremely rare objects to important parts of the cosmos.
Also read: If Black Holes Exist, Could White Holes Also Exist?
The event horizon and the mysteries within it
The event horizon is one of the distinctive characteristics of black holes that influences understanding regarding black hole research.
The event horizon is an imaginary boundary surrounding a black hole, where gravity is so strong that nothing can pass through this boundary, not even light.
This means that if someone crosses the event horizon and is inside it, there is no way to return or communicate with outsiders.
The existence of an event horizon brings about dramatic changes in the laws of physics that apply near black holes.
The laws of physics that we are familiar with such as Newton’s laws of motion, special relativity, or the laws of thermodynamics, behave in a very different way near black holes, especially within the event horizon.
Therefore, black holes are often considered exotic places in the universe, where physical conditions are extreme and cannot be found on Earth.
In addition to changes in the laws of physics, event horizons also carry uncertainty about what is actually happening within them.
Until now, no one knows for sure what happens inside a black hole’s event horizon because no information or signals can come out from there.
This makes the event horizon one of the greatest mysteries in black hole research.
Also read: How Close is Earth’s Nearest Black Hole?
First visual achievement
In 2019, a milestone was achieved in the world of astronomy when the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) succeeded in creating the first image of a black hole.
EHT is a network consisting of eight telescopes spread across various locations throughout the world.
This success shows not only confirmation of the initial theory formulated by Albert Einstein, but also provides concrete visual evidence of the existence of black holes.
Prior to this achievement, black holes were only known through theory and mathematical calculations. This first image of a black hole provides an extraordinary concrete and visual look at this phenomenon.
NOIRLab via CNN
Photo of a black hole that has been enhanced with artificial intelligence (right). The new black hole image was obtained with the development of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques.
In the image, we can see a bright ring surrounding a very dark black hole in the center.
These rings are the result of light being pulled in by the black hole’s gravity and the optical effects look truly stunning.
With this achievement, research and exploration of black holes continues to develop.
Scientists and astronomers now have more data and a real picture of black holes.
This could open the door to new discoveries and a deeper understanding of this phenomenon in the universe.
This achievement is also proof that highly advanced and sophisticated physical theories such as Einstein’s general relativity remain relevant and can be tested with today’s advanced technology.
Reference:
Novikov, I. (1997). Black holes. Stellar Remnants, 237-334. Get selected news updates and breaking news every day from Kompas.com. Let’s join the Telegram Group “Kompas.com News Update”, by clicking the link https://t.me/kompascomupdate, then join. You must install the Telegram application first on your cellphone.
2023-11-01 07:00:00
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