What Happens When Two Black Holes Collide?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the events and consequences of two black holes colliding, exploring theoretical aspects of their interaction, energy release, and mass changes. It includes speculative reasoning about gravitational attraction and the nature of mass before and after the collision.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Technical explanation, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that when two black holes collide, they are initially attracted by each other's gravitational fields, leading to a close approach and eventual collision, which releases a significant amount of energy.
  • Others clarify that the mass of the resulting black hole is actually less than the sum of the original masses due to energy lost through radiation and other processes during the collision.
  • A later reply emphasizes the concept of binding energy, noting that while the merged black hole has less mass, the difficulty of separating a merged black hole is significant.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the mass changes associated with the collision, with some asserting an increase in mass and others pointing out the decrease due to energy loss. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the specifics of mass changes and energy dynamics.

Contextual Notes

Some assumptions about gravitational interactions and energy loss mechanisms are not fully explored, and the discussion does not resolve the complexities of black hole mergers.

jayaramas
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what happens when two black holes collide?
 
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Its believed generally that when you collide two bodies with enough force, then the bodies group together by the attractive force and grow larger in size and mass..

Based on the similar concept, when two black holes collide, they just don't hit on each other, firstly, they get attracted by each others gravitational fields and they start they start to get close to each other, and hence due to that, they start to revolve around each other and finally their centers collide releasing a huge abount of energy :/ or some things like that I guess xD

Their masses increase etc...
 
Rajeeva said:
Its believed generally that when you collide two bodies with enough force, then the bodies group together by the attractive force and grow larger in size and mass...

Just to clarify, the two bodies actually have LESS mass after the collision than the sum of the two bodies before the collision due to energy lost through radiation and other means.
 
Last edited:
Drakkith said:
Rajeeva said:
Its believed generally that when you collide two bodies with enough force, then the bodies group together by the attractive force and grow larger in size and mass...QUOTE]

Just to clarify, the two bodies actually have LESS mass after the collision than the sum of the two bodies before the collision due to energy lost through radiation and other means.

Right. This represents the binding energy that would be required to pull them apart after they settle. Though, for black holes, have fun trying to pull apart a merged black hole.
 

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