Black holes aren't easy things to describe, but I'll give it a go.
Basically they are objects that are very dense. More dense than a neutron
(as in atoms, which are made up of protons, neutrons and electrons). The
gravitational pull of this object is very great. On earth, to escape the
gravitational pull, you must travel at a certain velocity, this is called
the escape velocity. In a black hole, the escape velocity is greater than
the speed of light. That's why they are called black holes. They vary in
size a bit, from a few million times the size of the sun, to a single star
that has collapsed in on itself. The other thing to note is that we don't
really know much about them. Have a look at some double lobed radio
galaxies and active galactic nuclei, very interesting stuff. Makes me think
that it's possible for matter to travel faster than the speed of light, but
that's a bit off the topic......
Oh well, I think that makes sense, if not, please tell me and I'll have
another bash at it.
Donald
At 08:12 10/09/98 EDT, you wrote:
>I'm a student at McEwen High School and i was wondering what the easiest way
>to describe a black hole.
>
> Thanks,
> Sarah Sager
>
Donald Howes
Acting Research Systems Co-Ordinator
Research Services
University of New England