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Question: Hi, I’ve been looking at the black hole photo recently and I’ve been wondering something. It’s that surely rather than activity just on the side of the black hole, there would be activity behind and in front of it, therefore making us unable to see the black abyss which is in the photo. If any of you can explain this I’d be really grateful. Thanks!
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anon-220967 commented on :
Thanks, and yes that is the photo David. Just in case I’ve made a mistake Matt, the black area we see is condensed matter in the shape of a disc that is spinning very fast? Ok, I’ve got another question (sorry if I’m getting a bit tiring), but I asked a question on here about a year ago, and apparently the forces in a black hole are so strong that they pull apart atoms and cause constant nuclear explosions. So how could the disc exist? Is it because it destroys the shells in atoms and causes a much more condensed form of matter, or is it something else? Again, I’d really appreciate it if you answered. Thanks agiain!
Matthew commented on :
That is an excellent observation, and as far as I can understand this is all to do with the Black holes rotation. the black hole is formed from the collapse of a rotating star, this then creates a rotating black hole. Because of the centripetal force (the force of spinning around) the black hole actually bulges out at its equator, and this means it is not spherical, but more disc-like. remember not even light can escape a black hole. Thus the speeds at which it is spinning are faster than the speed of light, meaning that this centripetal force is so strong, that the black hole is compressed even more in terms of thickness (I hope that makes sense). this then causes the gas and debris around the black hole to form the ‘accretion’ disc we can see in so many of the iconic pictures of the black hole.
There are atoms smashing together and ripping apart and explosions, all happening in the accretion disc. We can see the x-rays and gamma rays produced by these being released into space but once this all gets past the event horizon, any further activity is impossible to see…
I hope this answers your question… if you have any further follow ups, then happy to try and help 😊👍