View Full Version : Black Holes Are Fricken Wierd!


Tristan
07-10-02, 12:04 AM
Ok so you see its my "title". I recently went to an astronomy camp. My consuler was an absolute genious and he answered all my questions (That doesnt mean I understand the answers). I asked him a good question. I said "There are black holes that we can't see (all of them...You know what I mean) and there are the ones at the centers of galaxy's. What I dont understand Jason, is how, if a black hole reaches into infinity, can a black hole increse in volume?"
To make a long story short, he picked up a dry erase marker and showed me on a board that with one simple math equation you can show that it can increse in volume (something with infinited rectangles all haveing the volume/area of 1) but still maintain "infinity". And i actually understood the equation. I mean Im going to be a sophmore (good'ole high school)and it was pretty simple math involved.

Can anyone redemonstrate that equation to me. What can I say? Im simply, utterly fascinated by Black Holes. I just have so many questions to ask about them but it seems hopeless because the only answers there are in written in "Mathish".

I think Im going to take some math classes and try to get a little ahead. Im just going to be in plain old Alg 2/trig next year. Even tho I got over 100% in math for my final grade.

Ahh well,
Hope someone can help me,
later,
Tristan:confused:

(Q)
07-10-02, 11:35 AM
Density = Mass / Volume

The volume of a black hole is the surface area times the length of time the black hole exists. Therefore, since black holes tend to exist practically forever, it's volume is almost infinite. Infinite density however can only exist over an infinitesimally small volume, therefore the integral of the density over the volume will remain finite.