Blackholes

[RAM555789]

If light moves at a constant speed, what happens to light when it is pulled into a black hole. Since light moves at a constant speed it can't slow down so how dose it actually get sucked in if it can't go slower?

[Vulrax]

Black holes suck the light. Im pretty sure

[AkiraDaarkst]

17 minutes ago, RAM555789 said:

If light moves at a constant speed, what happens to light when it is pulled into a black hole. Since light moves at a constant speed it can't slow down so how dose it actually get sucked in if it can't go slower?

OK let's go to basic astrophysics.   Disclaimer, I'm not physicist, just explaining how I understand it in layman's terms.

 

Think of space as a large flat sheet of rubber.  When you place an object that has mass (e.g. planets, stars, even a singularity such as a blackhole) it creates a dimple in that sheet of rubber.  Like in the image below.  The greater the gravity of the object, the deeper the dimple.

 

If another smaller object approaches close to the bigger object, it will be pulled by the gravity of the larger object and gets pulled in closer.  It sinks into the dimple.  If the speed of the smaller object falling into the gravity well is equal to the speed that the smaller object may be traveling laterally to the larger object, it will remain in orbit around the larger object.  If the falling speed is less than the lateral speed, it will escape the gravity well.  If the falling speed is faster than the lateral speed, the smaller object will get closer and closer to the larger object.

 

So taking that explanation above, a blackhole is simple a gravity well that is so strong that if a light particle or wave enters it's vicinity and is sucked in, the speed of light is not enough to escape the gravity well.

 

Additionally light DOES NOT move at a constant speed.  It's maximum speed is the speed of light in vacuum, however it can travel at slower speeds (though the slow down is very tiny compared to the speed of light) depending on the medium it is transitioning through.

 

[Dash Lambda]

Because the light doesn't necessarily slow down when it enters a black hole, but rather its path bends inward.

When it reaches the singularity, it simply adds to the energy of the black hole.

 

That's not to say we really 'know' what happens in black holes, since they're one of those things that don't fit neatly into our current models past a certain point.

[Dash Lambda]

7 minutes ago, AkiraDaarkst said:

-snip-

The general way of thinking is that space is unidirectional within the event horizon, as it represents the point where there are no longer any paths which can lead outward. There's a region where a circular orbit is possible, but cannot be stable against disruption.

 

Though, for the speed of light, yes it does travel at a constant velocity. It propagates more slowly through a medium because it interacts with particles along its path, being absorbed and re-emitted.

[Atmos]

Light doesn't move at a constant speed through all mediums, it can be affected by various things.

Light simply moves at a constant speed through a vacuum without incomprehensible gravitational force.

 

Light isn't some magical force that we understand nothing about, its just very fast, and is affected by many, many things, just like any other particle

[NicholasNicholasNicholas]

1 hour ago, Atmos said:

Light doesn't move at a constant speed through all mediums, it can be affected by various things.

Light simply moves at a constant speed through a vacuum without incomprehensible gravitational force.

 

Light isn't some magical force that we understand nothing about, its just very fast, and is affected by many, many things, just like any other particle

 

Not true. Light speed is constant, but through objects, it has to go around the individual particles, making it appear to be slower.

[NicholasNicholasNicholas]

5 hours ago, RAM555789 said:

If light moves at a constant speed, what happens to light when it is pulled into a black hole. Since light moves at a constant speed it can't slow down so how dose it actually get sucked in if it can't go slower?

 

A black hole is just a star with a really, really strong gravitational pull. And all things, every last one, has energy. All energy is affected by gravity, even light. Light cannot be slowed, only bounced around and turned. When light is "trapped" in a black hole, it really means that the gravity has made the light fall into the center of the black hole. Common terms for scientific words create a lot of misconceptions, like black holes "sucking" things in. The event horizon is not a solid place (unless you count the high energy particles blazing around it) and when things pass it, it is not like there is an invisible wall keeping you in, just like there isn't an invisible wall from keeping you from jumping infinitely high. Now from an outside observers perspective, which is what I assume you're talking about, the light would be slowed, but this is basic relativity. From the light's perspective, it wouldn't've changed, but since the gravitational field is so strong it literally slows down time. Time dilation does not slow the speed of anything, just the time in that local area.

[yathis]

6 hours ago, RAM555789 said:

If light moves at a constant speed, what happens to light when it is pulled into a black hole. Since light moves at a constant speed it can't slow down so how dose it actually get sucked in if it can't go slower?

Black holes consume everything because they are super super dense. It moves the fabric of time and space.

[Atmos]

31 minutes ago, Nickathom said:

Not true. Light speed is constant, but through objects, it has to go around the individual particles, making it appear to be slower.

Ehem,

https://www.springer.com/about+springer/media/springer+select?SGWID=0-11001-6-1414244-0

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/speed-light-can-vary-180953949/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/29/speed-of-light-constant-physicists_n_3175487.html

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2013/04/speed-of-light-not-a-constant-it-varies-.html

 

Not quite matey. Back in 2013 a group of researchers proposed that the speed of light does in deed fluctuate as the individual photons collide with various ephemeral particles that appear throughout it at random.

Turns out, that a vacuum is only possible in theory, and even when created in theory you still need to account for those ephemeral particles. The speed of light is constant in a theoretical complete vacuum without those particles, but in practice, it does fluctuate minutely. You could also view outwardly light traveling at a much lower speed independent of any medium slowing it, so long as that light is under immense gravitational force. While the light may be traveling at the same speed it would normally, our perception of it, the only way we have of measuring it, would show it as moving significantly slower.

[AkiraDaarkst]

2 hours ago, Nickathom said:

A black hole is just a star with a really, really strong gravitational pull.

Just to clarify, a black hole is NOT a star.  It may have it's origins from a collapsing star but in essence a black hole is a region in space that has extremely strong gravitational force.

[HelplmChoking]

Let's not forget that time slows as gravity increases, so from the proton's point of view it may be travelling at a constant speed.

[LAwLz]

2 hours ago, Nickathom said:

Not true. Light speed is constant, but through objects, it has to go around the individual particles, making it appear to be slower.

But it is true.

What you're calling "light speed" is not the speed at which light travels.

The speed of light (c) is the speed light would travel at if it was traveling in a perfect vacuum. This number is a constant in the same way the top speed of a car is constant (not taking into consideration degradation of course). But just because the top speed of your car is let's say 100 miles per hour doesn't mean you always have to drive at that speed, right?

 

Speed of light = constant (it is the top speed)

Speed of which light travels at = not constant

[Nuluvius]

Some PBS Space Time Black Hole related videos:

 

 

 

 

 

[WindirBear]

10 hours ago, Vulrax said:

Black holes suck the light. Im pretty sure

Wow, what a slut.

[NicholasNicholasNicholas]

15 hours ago, LAwLz said:

But it is true.

What you're calling "light speed" is not the speed at which light travels.

The speed of light (c) is the speed light would travel at if it was traveling in a perfect vacuum. This number is a constant in the same way the top speed of a car is constant (not taking into consideration degradation of course). But just because the top speed of your car is let's say 100 miles per hour doesn't mean you always have to drive at that speed, right?

 

Speed of light = constant (it is the top speed)

Speed of which light travels at = not constant

 

im pretty sure it would be more like the car going 100mph in a zigzag pattern, making it reach its destination later. though im pretty sure, i could be wrong

[Dash Lambda]

18 hours ago, Atmos said:

-snip-

 

16 hours ago, LAwLz said:

-snip-

The speed at which light travels, at least according to the most accepted model (there are different proposals, of course, it's quantum physics), is in fact constant.

 

When light travels through a medium, it is not simply slowed, but rather interrupted and deflected. It travels at a constant speed, but due to interactions with other particles, propagates at a slower speed. It only effectively travels at the speed of light in a perfect vacuum because, in a perfect vacuum, it does not interact with anything else.

Think of it like throwing a ball from person to person. The time added by pauses does not mean the ball ever actually traveled more slowly in air than a ball that was never caught. (Except with light, the photons are absorbed as energy and re-emitted.)