John Mitchell, an English clergyman and amateur scientist, is credited with predicting the existence of black holes before they were confirmed. In 1783, Mitchell published a paper to the Royal Society titled “On the Measures of the Resistance of Fluids, and of the Motion of Waves, arising from a Centrifugal Force varying as the Distance increaseth”.
In this paper, he proposed that when a star has used up all its fuel and collapses, it becomes so tightly compacted that its escape velocity—the velocity required for something to escape the gravity of the star—becomes greater than the speed of light.
This meant, theoretically, that no matter can escape from the star, and thus, it appeared as a “black” object in the night sky (hence the name “black hole”). Although Mitchell’s predictions were not formally accepted by the science community until much later, he is widely credited for being the first to early predict the existence of black holes.
What does the theory of relativity say about black holes?
The theory of relativity (Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity) states that black holes are an implication of curved spacetime leading to strong gravitational fields. This theory explains that a black hole is an area of spacetime where the gravitational field is so powerful that nothing, including light, can escape its pull.
The edge of a black hole is known as the event horizon and this is where any objects edge towards the point of no return. According to the theory of relativity, black holes are a result of the collapse of massive stars due to the limit of the neutron degeneracy pressure that is reached when too much matter is compressed into a small area.
The gravitational force increases exponentially as the radius decreases and this in turn causes the star to collapse in on itself and forms a black hole. Any matter or radiation that passes through the event horizon will be drawn into the black hole where it can never escape.
Who solved the black hole theory?
The history of the black hole theory is long and complex. It took the work of many scientists over several centuries to fully establish its foundations. One of the earliest contributions to the understanding of black holes was made by John Michell in 1784.
He proposed the idea of what he called “dark stars” which were later shown to be analogous to what we now understand as black holes. In 1916, Albert Einstein put forth his general theory of relativity which marked the beginning of rigorous study of black holes.
Karl Schwarzschild built on Einstein’s work with the first exact solution to the equations of general relativity, the “Schwarzschild solution,” which predicted the existence of what we now know as black holes.
In the late 1950s, much progress was made by Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, who first calculated what we now call the “Chandrasekhar limit,” and Roger Penrose, who first proved the existence of black hole singularities.
In the 1970s, Stephen Hawking advanced the understanding of black holes with his discovery that they can emit radiation. Finally, in 2019, a team of astronomers led by Dr. Sheperd Doeleman announced the first direct visual evidence of a black hole, providing solid proof of their existence.
Did Einstein predicted black holes?
Yes, Albert Einstein predicted the existence of black holes through his theory of general relativity. This theory suggests that when a star dies and its core collapses, gravity becomes so strong that no matter or radiation can escape.
This forms an extremely dense, theoretical region of space called a singularity. As material accumulates, the surrounding space is curved and caved in, creating a boundary know as an event horizon, beyond which no material can escape and the singularity lies.
This boundary forms a region in space described as a black hole. In short, the answer is yes, Einstein predicted the concept of black holes.
Which scientist told about black hole?
The term ‘black hole’ was first used in 1967 by physicist and Nobel laureate John Archibald Wheeler. He initially introduced the concept as a “dark star”, eventually deducing the problems associated with a collapsing stellar object.
He was able to explain the properties of the black hole by using Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity. He is often credited with popularizing the term “black hole” and for making it a widely known concept.
Did Karl Schwarzschild discover black holes?
No, Karl Schwarzschild did not discover black holes. He is best known for devising the first exact solution to the Einstein field equations of general relativity. His solution predicts the behavior of a black hole, which is now known as Schwarzschild black hole.
This solution demonstrated that a region of spacetime, called the “black hole event horizon”, could capture everything, not even light is able to escape from its gravitational pull. Accordingly, this region became known as a black hole.
So, while Karl Schwarzschild did not technically “discover” black holes, he was the first to demonstrate their existence and properties.
Did Stephen Hawking find out about black holes?
Yes, Stephen Hawking was one of the foremost experts on black holes. He first theorized the existence of these mysterious celestial objects in 1966, although they were actually first observed by Karl Schwarzschild in 1915.
Hawking and his colleague Roger Penrose then proposed the idea that black holes might contain singularities and radiation, and Hawking subsequently wrote a series of papers that advanced the knowledge of black holes even further.
His best-known works include A Brief History of Time and The Universe in a Nutshell. Both books detail Hawking’s groundbreaking theories about black holes and their properties.
Does E mc2 apply to black holes?
Yes, Einstein’s famous equation E = mc2 does indeed apply to black holes. This equation can be used to calculate the mass-energy equivalence of black holes. To explain this in further detail, it is necessary to understand what the equation means.
E = mc2 is a basic expression of the law of conservation of energy, which states that energy cannot be created or destroyed. Therefore, what is already in the universe will remain, but it can change form.
The equation E = mc2 explains the relationship between mass (m) and energy (E). The “c” in the equation stands for the speed of light, which is a universal constant. Therefore, according to the equation, energy is equal to the mass of an object, multiplied by the speed of light, squared.
In the case of a black hole, the equation can be used to measure the amount of energy needed to produce the gravitational force necessary to form the black hole. In other words, the mass-energy equivalence of the black hole is equal to the mass of the object times the speed of light, squared.
In conclusion, the equation E = mc2 does indeed apply to black holes, as it can be used to calculate the mass-energy equivalence of the black hole.
Who said black holes exist?
The first person to propose that black holes might exist was English astronomer John Michell in a 1783 paper titled “On the Means of Discovering the Distance, Magnitude, &c. of the Fixed Stars, in Consequence of the Diminution of the Velocity of Their Light, in Case Such a Diminution Should Be Found to Take Place in any of Them”.
He was actually discussing what would later become known as a black hole, although he referred to such objects as “dark stars”.
In the early twentieth century, German physicist Karl Schwarzschild wrote a paper that solved Einstein’s gravitational field equations. In this work, he predicted the existence of a point in space that had such a powerful gravitational pull, nothing could escape from it, not even light.
He called this a “gravitational singularity”.
In 1939, American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his student Hartland Snyder published a paper outlining the formation and structure of a “black star”. The unique properties of this star were later to be known as a black hole.
In 1966, American physicist John Wheeler popularized the term “black hole” in a paper about neutron stars and gravitational collapse. He provided evidence to support the existence of such objects and included calculations of their properties.
Over the course of the following decades, evidence increased to support the theory that black holes do in fact exist. In 1971, the first stellar-mass black hole– Cygnus X-1– was discovered, which further confirmed the theory.
Since then an extensive amount of research has been conducted with observational evidence, ensuring their existence in the universe.
Who found the closest black hole to Earth?
The closest black hole to Earth (that we know of) is called V4641 Sgr and is located about 1,600 light years away in the constellation Sagittarius. It was discovered in 1999 by a group of astronomers from the University of Toulouse in France who were studying long-term X-ray variability of known X-ray sources in the sky.
V4641 Sgr is a binary system of a black hole and an ordinary star and it has an orbital period of just over 6 days. This means that the black hole is orbiting the star so close that it completes an orbit in only 6 days.
This is remarkable given that V4641 Sgr is only 7 times the mass of our sun, making it one of the smallest black holes ever known.
Will humans ever see black holes?
For a long time, scientists believed that humans would never be able to observe black holes directly as they are so massive and contain such strong gravitational fields, making them extremely difficult to observe.
However, in recent years, advancements in technology have opened up the possibility of humans being able to directly observe black holes in the future. Space telescopes such as the Chandra X-Ray Observatory have already been used to study the effect of black holes on their surroundings.
In the future, more powerful telescopes, such as the James Webb Space Telescope, which is set to launch in 2021, could provide much clearer images of nearby black holes. In addition, scientists are also developing technologies that can image the event horizon of a black hole, allowing us to see the very edge of its powerful gravitational field.
With the right combination of instruments, it is possible that humans may be able to actually see black holes in the future.
