Can Black Holes Alter the Movement of the Universe Through Light Bending?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the effects of black holes on the movement of the universe and related concepts such as time dilation, mass conservation during black hole formation, and the nature of motion in the universe. Participants explore theoretical implications and properties of black holes, including their ability to bend light and the concept of a rotating universe.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants question whether the formation of a black hole alters the movement of the universe, with one suggesting a "funneling effect."
  • Others clarify that the universe does not move as a whole and that black holes primarily affect spacetime curvature in their vicinity.
  • There is a discussion about the mass of black holes, with some asserting that mass is conserved during the collapse of a star into a black hole, while later inflow may increase mass.
  • Participants mention the concept of black hole evaporation due to Hawking radiation, noting that this process may take an extremely long time.
  • Some participants propose the idea of a rotating universe, referencing Gödel's equations for a rotating model of general relativity, while others challenge the physicality of such a model.
  • There are inquiries about time dilation near black holes, with some asserting that time slows down significantly for distant observers watching objects fall into a black hole, while those falling experience time normally.
  • One participant raises a hypothetical scenario about light bending near a black hole, questioning how it would appear to an observer near the event horizon.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express multiple competing views regarding the effects of black holes on the universe, the nature of motion, and the implications of time dilation. The discussion remains unresolved on several points, particularly regarding the concept of a rotating universe and the interpretation of time near black holes.

Contextual Notes

Some claims depend on specific definitions and assumptions about motion and reference frames, which are not universally agreed upon. The discussion includes unresolved mathematical and conceptual steps related to the properties of black holes and their effects on spacetime.

taeth
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When a star turns into a black hole does it change the movement of the Universe at all? Through a funneling effect?
 
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Hi taeth. Welcome to PF. Not sure what you mean by movement of the universe. Things move within the universe relative to each other. The universe as a whole does not move. There is nothing for it to move through, so the short answer is no. Black hole formation has no effect on anything aside from spacetime curvature [increased gravity] in the volume of space previously occupied by the precursor object [star].
 
K thanks sorry I didn't explain myself very good, but a black hole has more mass than the star who's place it takes... Also do black hole ever die out because they emmit radiation I was just curious if they could run out?
 
taeth said:
K thanks sorry I didn't explain myself very good, but a black hole has more mass than the star who's place it takes.
Not initially. The star collapses to the black hole and its mass is conserved. Later inflow may increase the mass.

.. Also do black hole ever die out because they emmit radiation I was just curious if they could run out?

Yes they can. It's called evaporation, and it's a real prediction. Every time a particle escapes the BH because of the Hawking mechanism, the BH loses that particle's mass. But evaporation may take a very, very long time.
 
Might the universe as a whole be rotating? Would it matter if it were?
 
Hmm...all motion is relative. So the question is...rotating relative to what? You're talking about the universe here...the whole of existence. There is nothing else to compare it with.
 
Jenab said:
Might the universe as a whole be rotating? Would it matter if it were?

Goedel (yes the famous "incompleteness" Goedel) developed the equations for a rotating version of general relativity. He showed that such a universe contains closed timelike paths, i.e. time travel is possible.

Most physicists have considered Goedel's universe to be unphysical, for exactly the reaon cepheid gave; rotating with respect to what?
 
rotating with respect to another universe separated by a membrane like bubbles inside of bubbles...

...with black holes maintaining the equilibrium of any particular universe around a fixed expansion point in multiversal time :smile:
 
Does time go slower in a black hole?
 
  • #10
cepheid said:
Hmm...all motion is relative. So the question is...rotating relative to what? You're talking about the universe here...the whole of existence. There is nothing else to compare it with.
I didn't think that rotational motion needs a reference.

For example, if I put a fly in a jar, attach string to the jar and swing it around in circles, the fly feels an artificial gravity caused by me doing so. A spider, outside the jar watches me do this, but he does not feel the artificial gravity. If all of a sudden, I considered the fly in the jar to be the origin of my coordinate system (ie it is now still), then the spider on the wall outside the jar should begin to feel an artifical gravity caused by the room spinning around the jar. But obviously he will not.

I think its because your direction keeps changing in circular motion. Therefore, circular motion needs no reference point, which opens the door for the universe to rotate.

Or another example, in most physics problems such as dropping a rock, you consider the surface of the Earth to be stationary and not rotating. But in reality, if I were to swing a pendulum, over a few minutes I could note a change in direction, proving that the Earth rotates, but relative to nothing except its own instantainous momentum.
 
  • #11
floped perfect said:
Does time go slower in a black hole?

Yes, I pretty sure it does. I think one of my friends told me that time is almost slowed down to 0.
 
  • #12
Interesting property of a Schwartzschild black hole; once you cross the event horizon, time and the radial space direction swap, so that as it were, things inside the horizon "age" toward the singularity at the center, i.e they can't escape going there. This time is not slow, my impression is that it passes at c.

Where time slows down, is close to the horizon, on the outside, and then ONLY for far-away observers. To them, looking through a telescope at something falling into the hole, it seems literally to take forever to do so, although observers falling with the object see time as passing normally. This is due to the warping of spacetime by the huge gravity of the hole.
 
  • #13
selfAdjoint said:
... This time is not slow, my impression is that it passes at c...

If you have time, could you elaborate on that? I am not able to understand what is meant by time passing at c.
 
  • #14
I know little about black holes, but from what I have read, I understand it that they can bend light. So assuming you were an ethereal being and were standing near the center of a black hole, if you streched out your arm tangent to the center (I imagine black holes as sphereical) and looked at it, would it appear bent (also assuming some light makes it to your eyes from you arm)?
 

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