The Existence of Black Holes

             While there are some physicists who believe that black holes do not
             exist, there is much data to support otherwise. In fact, much evidence
             seems to support the existence of black holes. For example, NASA's Hubble
             Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory seem to have discovered "direct
             evidence' (NASA 2001) of one characteristic of a black hole. This
             characteristic is the area that surrounds black holes, which emits very
             little energy. Michael Garcia states, "By detecting very little energy
             from these black hole candidates, we have new proof that event horizons
             exist" (NASA). Furthermore, astronomers have also detected sound waves
             coming from what they believe to be a black home in the Perseus galaxy
             cluster. (Discovery 2003) Astronomers have long known that gravity in
             black holes pulls matter toward them, with matter accelerating the closer
             it comes to the black hole. Calculations also show that gas surrounding
             black holes will become hotter. One of the most persuasive cases
             supporting these theories is Cygnus X-1. (Pasachoff 1991 p. 496) By
             studying mass, velocity, and X-rays around the star HDE 226868, astronomers
             believe black holes do exist. Another case supporting the existence of
             black holes is the discovery of "mid-mass black holes" (Beasley 2001) in
             Meanwhile, John Cramer explains that this theory grounds itself in the
             fact that with standard general relativity, "gravity is considered to be
             geometrical', to be a consequence of the curvature of space produced by
             nearby mass-energy" (Cramer). In short, because "Because gravitational
             energy does not produce curvature, it does not respect local energy
             conservation" (Cramer). Those who support this theory also maintain that
             another problem with the general relativity theory concerning black holes
             deals with "space-time singularities'" (Cramer). Because we cannot place
             ourselves inside a black hole, we do not...

More Essays:

APA     MLA     Chicago
The Existence of Black Holes. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 12:28, December 02, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/201683.html