How can black holes have electrical charge, and spin?

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the properties of black holes, specifically their electrical charge and spin, and how these characteristics can exist despite the singularity being described as a point of zero volume. Participants explore the implications of these properties on the nature of black holes and the underlying physics.

Discussion Character

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

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants question how a black hole can possess spin or angular momentum if it is formed from a mass that collapses into a point of zero volume, suggesting that the singularity may still be spinning or that spacetime is being dragged around it.
  • Others propose that the charge and angular momentum of the original star must be retained in the black hole, raising the question of where these properties would go otherwise.
  • One participant notes that elementary particles, which are also modeled as point-like, can carry intrinsic charge and angular momentum, drawing a parallel to black holes.
  • It is mentioned that Kerr and Newman black holes do not contract into points but rather to circles, which still have zero volume due to their lack of thickness.
  • A later reply asserts that the laws of conservation (angular momentum, charge, mass-energy) apply during the formation of a black hole, indicating that a black hole retains the angular momentum and charge of the star, unless these were lost during collapse.
  • Another participant challenges the claim that black holes have "zero" volume, suggesting that this assertion is incorrect.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the nature of black holes regarding their volume, spin, and charge. There is no consensus on the implications of these properties or the accuracy of the claims made about them.

Contextual Notes

Some statements rely on specific definitions of volume and charge, and the discussion includes unresolved questions about the nature of singularities and the behavior of spacetime around them.

Lamdbaenergy
Messages
35
Reaction score
1
If the star's mass supposedly collapses into a single point, and it ends up having "said" zero volume, then how can people say that the hole has a specific spin or that it can have an angular momentum?

Does it mean that the singularity is somehow still spinning, or maybe the spacetime around it is just being dragged for some reason?
This subject has been confusing me quite a bit whenever I think about it.
 
Astronomy news on Phys.org
Where would the charge and angular momentum of the star go otherwise?

On a related issue: Elementary particles are also modeled as point like, yet can carry both intrinsic charge and angular momentum.
 
Lamdbaenergy said:
If the star's mass supposedly collapses into a single point, and it ends up having "said" zero volume, then how can people say that the hole has a specific spin or that it can have an angular momentum?

Does it mean that the singularity is somehow still spinning, or maybe the spacetime around it is just being dragged for some reason?
This subject has been confusing me quite a bit whenever I think about it.

Sometimes the BH's gravity field is referred to as a 'fossil' field-

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/Relativity/BlackHoles/black_gravity.html
 
Turns out Kerr and Newman black holes do NOT contract into points. They contract to circles... which still have zero volume, because zero thickness throughout their nonzero circumference.
Reissner black holes are point charges, just like Schwarzschild black holes.
 
In short: the laws of conservation (angular momentum, charge, mass-energy, etc.) still work during the process of creation of a black hole. So if a star had some angular momentum/charge before it collapsed, the resulting black hole will also have some (assuming the angular momentum/charge was not radiated away during the collapse).

Also, the claim that black holes have "zero" volume is simply incorrect.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 40 ·
2
Replies
40
Views
4K
  • · Replies 20 ·
Replies
20
Views
3K
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
3K
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
3K
  • · Replies 17 ·
Replies
17
Views
5K
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
3K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
2K
  • · Replies 48 ·
2
Replies
48
Views
6K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
7K