What happens if you fall into a black hole? Science fiction writers often.
speculate on what could happen if you fall into a black hole. A common suggestion is.
that if you fall into one you might fall into another region of space-time. This of course.
raises great possibilities for space travel. Something like this would be needed if travel.
through the stars is to be a practical proposition in the future. Otherwise the fact that.
nothing can travel faster that light means that the round trip to the nearest star would take.
at least eight years. Of course how to choose your destination is not clear: if one could.
pass through a black hole one might reemerge anywhere in the universe. Unfortunately.
this scenario doesn't work. If you jump into a black hole you will most likely get torn.
apart and crushed out of existence. If its any consolation to you, the particles that make.
up your body will carry on into another universe(Hawking 116).
But what exactly is a black hole? A black hole is baisicly thought to be the.
last evolutionary stage of massive stars-at least fifteen times as massive as the Sun. .
Astronomers believe that a black hole forms when a massive star runs out of nuclear fuel.
and is crushed under its own gravitational force. While stars burn fuel, they produce an.
outward push that counters the inward pull of gravity. But when the fuel is used up, the.
star can no longer support its own weight and collapses, exploding in a tremendous burst.
called a supernova. This exploding star throws off its outer layers, and the remaining core.
continues to collapse inward at a rate equaling the speed of light - which means that no.
light can escape from it and becomes invisible. It collapses to a small point in which all.
of the star's mass is packed in with infinite density. The gravitational force is so strong.
very near the black hole because all its matter is located at a single point in its center.