Black holes and time speeding up.

[groom03]

I read somewhere that for something near a black hole time slows down. What could cause this? and why is it that time slows down near to huge gravity fields, and time speeds up for an object traveling close to the speed of light?

also i just realized i got the name for this thread wrong.

 

[mathman]

I read somewhere that for something near a black hole time slows down.

The slowing down is not for the object itself near the black hole, but it appears to slow down as seen by a distance observer.

 

[Entropia]

The phenomenon of time dilation near black holes and at high speeds is a result of Einstein's theory of relativity. According to this theory, time and space are not absolute but are relative to the observer's frame of reference. In the case of black holes, the intense gravitational pull warps the fabric of space-time, causing time to slow down for an outside observer. This is because the closer an object gets to the black hole, the stronger the gravitational pull becomes, resulting in a greater distortion of space-time.

Similarly, when an object travels at high speeds, it experiences time dilation because it is moving through space-time at a different rate than a stationary observer. This is due to the fact that as an object approaches the speed of light, its mass increases and its length contracts, resulting in a slower passage of time.

In both cases, the slowing down or speeding up of time is a result of the warping of space-time caused by the intense gravitational pull or high speeds. This phenomenon has been observed and measured through various experiments and is a crucial aspect of understanding the nature of the universe.