One day we might fall into a black hole. Here’s what we can expect, according to physicist Janna Levin.
This interview is an episode from @The-Well, our publication about ideas that inspire a life well-lived, created with the @JohnTempletonFoundation.
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Black holes should be thought of as "empty places" rather than "dense objects." While they are indeed formed from incredibly dense objects (collapsed stars), the black hole itself is nothing.
Black holes could have played a crucial role in the emergence of life. Ironically, the Solar System is in orbit around a supermassive black hole located in the center of our Milky Way galaxy. And one day, we might fall into a black hole.
If you were out in space exploring and you didn't realize you were coming upon a black hole, you would not notice that anything terrible was about to happen. Eventually, however, you would succumb to a terrifying fate.
Read the video transcript ► https://bigthink.com/the-well/what-would-happen-if-we-fell-in-a-black-hole/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=youtube_description
About Janna Levin:
Janna Levin is a professor of physics and astronomy at Barnard College of Columbia University. She is also director of sciences at Pioneer Works, a center for arts and sciences in Brooklyn, and has contributed to an understanding of black holes, the cosmology of extra dimensions, and gravitational waves in the shape of spacetime. Her previous books include How the Universe Got Its Spots and a novel, A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines, which won the PEN/Bingham Prize. She was recently named a Guggenheim fellow.
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