This page is designed to present a series of web links that will enable the reader to make up their own mind as to whether or not they wish to believe in black holes exist. You perhaps should know that the term black hole is relatively new (1967), prior to this they were known as a Schwarzschild Singularity. Although there existence had been predicted by John Michell (1724-1793) and Pierre Simon Laplace (1749-1827) as consequence of Newton's Universal Gravity theory. They had used the Newton's theories to deduce that if you became to close to a large mass you would simply be unable to escape from it gravitational attraction. It was thought to be qwerky idea by the then Physicist Community until Einstein came along and proposed his changes from the then concept of time being absolute (Newtonian time) to spacetime where time and space can get all jumbled up!
This topic has been chosen because I wanted to find out what there was published on the web on this particular topic. I was not aware that there was such a weight of proof that black holes exist. Hopefully after following the links you will see that there is. I trust you will follow the many links and enjoy your trip and find it interesting and perhaps at the end mail me whether you believe they exist. You should note that I have attempted to provide a series of sites that are produced by knowledgeable people; many of whom are physicists. However you should note that I am biased in the belief that black holes do exist.
There are many fine glossaries on the terms associated with
black holes. This page is my concise guide to the most commonly used terms.
At the end of this link is a series of references from which I have compiled
the best bits. I have provided this link first in order that you may become
familiar with the terminology before you encounter the real content of this
channel. The perspective of the author I can clearly state, since it is a page
I have created; I wished to create a gentle introduction to a complex topic
which would be helpful. So a glossary page which tries to present just understandable
science.
The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy
produce a series of pages very graphical in nature which encourage you to explore
their web site fully. Unfortunately the pages take quite a long time to download
for the average u.k. modem user. I have chosen this page because it has
an interactive graphic that shows the constituent parts of a black hole. Once
loaded drag your mouse over the screen and watch what happens. Note also in
the top left of the screen a crafty forward and backward widget.
This link is for me interesting because it gives definitive
proof for the existence and location of a black hole. Unfortunately you will
have to navigate several pages on from this link to uncover the whole story,
you will need to use the continue at the bottom of each page and follow the
justification as to why it can only be a black hole. In brief in 1972 the found
and unexplained source of x-rays then shortly after they found a source of radio
waves in close proximity the conclusion a binary star system (which is two
stars rotating about each other!). This was proved by observing the doppler
shift. All the while technological advances where being made in the field of
Astronomy which led to the discovery that the star gave out varying amounts
of light. This has been attributed to the star being elongated by the adjacent
large dense mass. This still does not mean you have a black hole until you take
into consideration the size of the large mass. The author then discusses the
methodology used to calculate both the mass and size of the alleged black hole
to reach his conclusion that there is a black hole in close proximity to Cygnus
X-1. It does however point out that there are others who propose alternatives
to his conclusion. A nicely presented argument from the author of this site
however I should like you to view these pages and notice the use of distracting
backgrounds. These to me distract the reader and do not seem to have any significance
to the page being browsed. So I would propose that in this way these pages are
an example of bad web design; although the pages are clearly set out.
This page in on the web server for Syracuse University, Department of Physics, 201 Physics Building, Syracuse NY 13244-1130. It has a wealth of information on what black holes maybe, in more depth than you and I are likely to need. These pages tackle how we (that's the scientific community and me) think black holes are formed (based on the last scientific discoveries), why a some rotate and a glimpse into those black holes that may have been formed when the universe was first formed. These pages include links to further information by the author on relativity and spacetime diagrams. I would suggest you could treat this page as a resource page for any questions you have. I am, still working through all the links myself. There's not a lot of fun on these pages. However they are written in an informal way that almost hides the amount of technical content. The author has tried to encourage the non-academic into his pages using this style, in part he succeeds. A link for the black hole enthusiast who just needs to know more.
Advanced Radio Interferometry between Space and Earth is part of a NASA project to determine the structure and evolution of the universe. This research will help clarify how the universe may end. Indeed many believe that the study of black holes is a vital part of this work. Anyway I've linked you to some images of the massive black holes already discovered. Warning you could spend hours surfing the many NASA links so watch the phone bill. For a final treat any channel on black holes would not be complete with a link to some simulations of what happens close to a black hole click here to see. There are many sites of this nature however I could not find any where the majority of links actually but on this one they do. It is important to take with you the notion that time and space do not have there everyday meaning (Newtonian) anymore. Out of Einstein's relativity came the mathematics of black holes what they can be and what they can not be. These simulations show you in a visual form what it may look like.
And Finally
I hope you got this far I tried to stay away from the higher mathematics that usually goes with this topic (No I do not understand it myself fully either).
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