I Could the Light Crowd in Orbiting Black Holes Over Billions of Years?

AI Thread Summary
Light can orbit black holes, but these orbits are unstable, leading to photons eventually falling into the black hole due to constant gravitational disturbances. Over billions of years, while light may appear to crowd around a black hole, it is continuously spiraling inward rather than accumulating. Only photons created or reflected at the specific orbital radius can maintain a stable orbit. The concept of a photonsphere is considered an illusion, lacking physicality and comparable to a rainbow. Ultimately, the dynamics of light around black holes prevent any significant buildup over time.
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light orbiting black holes
If light can orbit a black hole, and it is continuously coming in from every direction, wouldn't it get "crowded" in there over billions of years?
 
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Those orbits are not stable and the light will fall into the black hole as a result of even the tiniest gravitational disturbance. Since objects in the universe are always moving around, these disturbances happen constantly, so it never has a chance to build up.
 
Light that is "coming into the black hole" will always spiral in. The only photons that could have a stable orbit are created (or reflected) at the orbital radius. Then what Drakkith said applies to that too.
 
Yes it gets crowded and the result of that is a quasar
 
The photonsphere of a black hole is merely an illusion. It has no physicality and is no more real than a rainbow.
 

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