What Keeps A Black Hole Going?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the nature of black holes, specifically addressing the misconception that matter exists within the singularity. According to the Naked Science special, matter is crushed to a 0-dimensional point, leading to the question of what sustains the black hole if the matter is no longer present. The event horizon, defined by the formula 2Gm/c², marks the boundary beyond which information cannot escape, indicating that while mass remains, the specifics of the material are irretrievable. The conversation emphasizes that discussing the interior of the event horizon may not yield useful insights.

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  • Understanding of general relativity and spacetime concepts
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  • Basic knowledge of mass, charge, and momentum in physics
  • Awareness of quantum effects near black holes
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  • Research the implications of the event horizon in black hole physics
  • Explore the mathematical derivation of the event horizon formula 2Gm/c²
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Astronomers, physicists, and students of astrophysics interested in the fundamental properties and theories surrounding black holes and their implications in modern physics.

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I saw the Naked Science special last night about black holes, and one of the scientists said that the idea that compact matter existing inside the black hole is wrong. The matter exists in a 0 dimensional point = it has been crushed out of existence. So what keeps the black hole going? If the matter in the singularity doesn't exist anymore, why doesn't the spacetime that makes up the black hole simply "flatten" back out? Doesn't a massive object have to exist for the spacetime to bend?
 
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I wouldn't say the matter was crushed out of existence at the singularity.
In fact it's probably not useful to talk about anything inside the event horizon.

A black hole has a surface (the event horizon) at a distance = 2Gm/c^2, anything inside this radius (give or take some quantum effects very close to it) is lost to the rest of the universe. Inside this surface the matter still has mass, and we can weigh the total mass of the black hole, but we can't know anything else about the material anymore.
 
Mass, charge, and momentum (angular and linear)
 

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