Concept explainers
Surviving the Plunge. The tidal forces near a black hole with a mass similar to that of a star would tear a person apart before that person could fall through the event horizon. Black hole researchers have pointed out that a fanciful “black hole life preserver” could help counteract those tidal forces. The life preserver would need to have a mass similar to that of an asteroid and would need to be shaped like a flattened hoop placed around the person’s waist. In what direction would the gravitational force from the hoop pull on the person’s head? In what direction would it pull on the person’s feet? Based on your answers, explain in general terms how the gravitational forces from the “life preserver” would help to counteract the black hole’s tidal forces.
Want to see the full answer?
Check out a sample textbook solutionChapter 18 Solutions
The Cosmic Perspective (9th Edition)
- A stellar black hole may form when a massive star dies. The mass of the star collapses down to a single point. Imagine an astronaut orbiting a black hole having eight times the mass of the Sun. Assume the orbit is circular. a. Find the speed of the astronaut if his orbital radius is r = 1 AU. b. Find his speed if his orbital radius is r = 11.8 km. c. CHECK and THINK: Compare your answers to the speed of light in a vacuum. What would the astronauts orbital speed be if his orbital radius were smaller than 11.8 km?arrow_forwardAs an object falls into a black hole, tidal forces increase. Will these tidal forces always tear the object apart as it approaches the Schwarzschild radius? How does the mass of the black hole and size of the object affect your answer?arrow_forwardWhat would be the Schwarzschild radius, in light years, if our Milky Way galaxy of 100 billion stars collapsed into a black hole? Compare this to our distance from the center, about 13,000 light years.arrow_forward
- As a person approaches the Schwarzschild radius fo a black hole, outside observers see all the processes of that person (their clocks, their heart rate, etc.) slowing down, and coming to a halst as they reach the Schwarzschild radius. (The person falling into the black hole sees their own processes unaffected.) But the speed of light is the same everywhere for all observers. What does this say about space as you approach the black hole?arrow_forwardWhat is the Schwarzschild radius for the black hole at the center of our galaxy if it has the mass of 4 million solar masses?arrow_forwardA student becomes so excited by the whole idea of black holes that he decides to jump into one. It has a mass 10 times the mass of our Sun. What is the trip like for him? What is it like for the rest of the class, watching from afar?arrow_forward
- what is the mass of the black hole ? give your answer as a multiple of Ms where Ms is the solar mass, Ms = 2.0 * 10^(30) express your answer as a multiple of the solar mass mass Ms.arrow_forwardGM What is the orbital period of a bit of matter in an accretion disk that is located 3 x 105 km from a 29 M. black hole? (Hint: Use the circular orbit velocity formula, V. = Varrow_forwardImagine you are in an indestructible spaceship orbiting a black hole and you decide to launch a probe into the black hole. Explain how time would pass differently for you and the probe as it is pulled into the black hole. Also, explain what the onboard camera would observe as it passed the photon sphere and the event horizon.arrow_forward
- Now look at the two images labeled "At a distance of 2.5M" and "At a distance of 2.1M". These show what happens as you move towards the black hole, looking away from it. What happens to your field of view of everything outside the black hole?arrow_forwardA gravitational dead zone is found between two hyper giant stars, HG A and HG B, 34 million km from HG A. It is known that the mass of B is 25 x the mass of A. Determine the distance between the two stars in millions of km.arrow_forward(Astronomy) Black Hole Gravity I. If the gravitational acceleration is g=GM/r^2, what gravitational acceleration does a particle feel at the Schwarzshild radius of a 12-solar-mass black hole star? Express your answer in units of m/s2. Please round your answer to three significant digits.arrow_forward
- Physics for Scientists and Engineers: Foundations...PhysicsISBN:9781133939146Author:Katz, Debora M.Publisher:Cengage LearningUniversity Physics Volume 1PhysicsISBN:9781938168277Author:William Moebs, Samuel J. Ling, Jeff SannyPublisher:OpenStax - Rice UniversityAstronomyPhysicsISBN:9781938168284Author:Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. WolffPublisher:OpenStax
- Stars and Galaxies (MindTap Course List)PhysicsISBN:9781337399944Author:Michael A. SeedsPublisher:Cengage Learning