Is the Singularity Infinitely Dense and Small?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the nature of singularities, specifically whether they are infinitely small and dense. Singularities are predicted to exist at the centers of black holes, as established by General Relativity (GR). While GR indicates that singularities must arise under certain conditions, the incompatibility between GR and Quantum Theory suggests that quantum gravity may ultimately prevent infinite densities. Currently, there is no comprehensive theory of quantum gravity to reconcile these concepts.

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I have a quick question about the singularity, is it infinitly small and dense and if so why? Why do we know it to be so as infinitely dense and small? Any help with this will be much appreciated.
 
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JCCol said:
I have a quick question about the singularity, is it infinitly small and dense and if so why? Why do we know it to be so as infinitely dense and small? Any help with this will be much appreciated.

Singularities are predicted at the center of black holes. We cannot see them (because they are hidden behind an event horizon), but singularities are a prediction of General Relativity. There are several important theorems in GR that show that singularities must arise in a black hole, given certain plausible assumptions.

Most people think that quantum gravity will prevent infinite densities from actually occurring in the center of black holes, however we do not have a theory of quantum gravity at this time.
 
General Realtivty and Quantum theory are incompatible. When you need both (as inside black holes) there is no working theory.
 

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