Skip to comments.How black holes grow
Posted on 04/03/2012 11:31:22 PM PDT by U-238
A study led by a University of Utah astrophysicist found a new explanation for the growth of supermassive black holes in the center of most galaxies: They repeatedly capture and swallow single stars from pairs of stars that wander too close.
Using new calculations and previous observations of our Milky Way and other galaxies, We found black holes grow enormously as a result of sucking in captured binary star partners, said Ben Bromley from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.
I believe this has got to be the dominant method for growing supermassive black holes, he said. There are two ways to grow a supermassive black hole: with gas clouds and with stars. Sometimes theres gas and sometimes there is not. We know that from observations of other galaxies. But there are always stars.
Our mechanism is an efficient way to bring a star to a black hole, Bromley said. Its really hard to target a single star at a black hole. Its a lot easier to throw a binary at it, just as its more difficult to hit a target using a slingshot, which hurls a single stone, than with a bola, which hurls two weights connected by a cord.
A binary pair of stars orbiting each other is essentially a single object much bigger than the size of the individual stars, so it is going to interact with the black hole more efficiently, Bromley said. The binary doesnt have to get nearly as close for one of the stars to get ripped away and captured
(Excerpt) Read more at astronomy.com ...
No, Jeff, don’t post that image...
They are elected to a 2nd term.
Excuse me..I said excuse me, but what does God need with a 2nd term?
It’s pretty simple to me how black holes grow....a star becomes so massive that it’s escape velocity becomes greater or equal to the speed of light....so everything that gets added to its gravity field makes it stronger? That’s what I’ve always assumed.
From what I understand it then reaches a singularity and then evaporates and disappears which I never understood. How can it evaporate if nothing can escape? What I would be interested in is if it could tear the fabric of spacetime.
The jokes just write themselves, however we have our fellow esteemed FReepers to assure us of an entertaining thread...lol
Evaporates? If it evaporates, how is there anything there...I suppose it could just tear a hole in space that everything get’s sucked into who knows where....kind of like universal drain plugs. Or which I think is more likely, black holes ARE STARS, and they do produce light, but we can’t see it....because the light cannot escape the gravity of the black hole, thus no light.
Two ways. One is always present as a quantum effect. The term "fuzzy black holes" means to conjure this up. At the edge, some particles will appear "on the other side" even though that contradicts classical physics.
The other mechanism is losing mass by losing energy by radiating heat into space. Not possible "today" (whatever "today" means on a cosmic scale) because the cosmic background radiation is still "too hot."
Looks more like a skeleton with a wig and a prom dress. Go figure, huh?!
A study led by a University of Utah astrophysicist found a new explanation for the growth of supermassive black holes in the center of most galaxies: They repeatedly capture and swallow single stars from pairs of stars that wander too close.Okay this is it. Cut off their Grant Money now and buy them a TV and Cable access.
This was on the Science Channel months ago.
(and I think that was a re-run!)
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