Do you possess knowledge about black holes? Have you ever wondered about the consequences of falling into one? Imagine a scenario where you’re in space, searching for a new habitable planet for humanity, and you stumble upon a black hole. What are your chances of survival? Is there a way out, perhaps a shortcut to another universe? Let’s explore what might happen if you were to fall into a black hole.
Contrary to its name, a black hole isn’t a dark, empty void. Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity explains how these cosmic phenomena form: when a massive star dies, it leaves behind a smaller core. If this core’s mass is at least three times greater than that of our Sun, gravity takes over and transforms it into a black hole.
Now, picture the Sun, with its gravitational pull 28 times stronger than Earth’s. If you stood on the Sun, you’d weigh 28 times more than on Earth. Now, imagine squeezing four Suns into a space just 15 miles in diameter – that’s less than a 30-minute drive. The gravitational force there would be incredibly intense. In fact, it’s so strong that even light can’t escape, making black holes impossible to see but detectable through gamma-ray bursts, known as Hawking radiation, named after physicist Stephen Hawking.
This artist’s impression shows the path of the star S2 as it passes very close to the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. As it gets close to the black hole the very strong gravitational field causes the colour of the star to shift slightly to the red, an effect of Einstein’s general theory of relativity. In this graphic the colour effect and size of the objects have been exaggerated for clarity.
Hawking himself believed that black holes could serve as gateways to alternate dimensions. Every black hole has an event horizon, the point beyond which escape becomes impossible. As you approach this point, you’d find stars curving around a perfect circle of darkness. Gravity would pull you in faster and faster, a perilous journey for any space explorer.
The gravitational force near a black hole is immense. If you fell in feet first, your legs would experience a much stronger pull than your head, causing your body to stretch apart. Most black holes are stellar-sized, spanning about 9 miles and weighing as much as 20 Suns. Falling into one would result in your complete disintegration before reaching the event horizon. So, opt for a supermassive black hole, which is a million times heavier than our Sun, to remain intact as you cross the event horizon.
Remarkably, there’s a supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, but it’s an unimaginable 165 quadrillion miles away, posing no threat to our solar system. However, crossing the event horizon is just the beginning of the challenge. Within a black hole lies a gravitational singularity, where density becomes infinite. You’d be compressed into this singularity, becoming one with the black hole, unable to communicate your experience.
To an observer outside the event horizon, your fate appears quite different. They’d witness you slowing down, growing dimmer and redder until you freeze in time, never crossing the event horizon. This strange phenomenon occurs because, at the event horizon, space and time swap roles: time stands still while space continues forward. It’s impossible to reverse course and escape the black hole.
Stephen Hawking proposed a way to preserve information about your body within alternate universes with different histories. This means that in one reality, you fell into a black hole, while in another, the black hole never existed. From outside the event horizon, it’s impossible to determine whether a black hole is present until you cross it. If you do and there is a black hole, farewell. But in a reality where it doesn’t exist, you’d remain alive, albeit in a different universe. Returning to our universe would be impossible.
So, are you brave enough to explore the enigmatic possibilities of black holes in the universe? Your next hypothetical adventure awaits.
