"Estimating the Age of a Black Hole"

[rrchr]

Is it possible to know BH age?

 

[marcus]

Is it possible to know BH age?

not by direct evidence, but one can tell something from circumstantial evidence.
If it is the supermassive black hole at a galaxy's center then the age of the galaxy should help tell something. Also the mass and estimated rate of infall should help give bounds on the age.
I doubt very much that there is any certain indicator.

 

[Sundance]

G'day from the land of ozzzzzzzz

How big can a black hole grow?
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14653

Indian-American detects black holes with 10 billion times sun's mass
http://news.webindia123.com/news/Articles/Science/20080912/1051159.html

Is there a minimum and a maximum size to stars and black holes?
http://www.astronomycafe.net/qadir/q330.html

Age of a black hole is determined by:

Size, Mass, activity infalling matter, outfalling matter, gravitational influence on surroundings and the size of the jet formed.