Will object with speed near the speed of light become black holes?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the question of whether an object traveling near the speed of light could become a black hole, exploring concepts from general relativity, mass, and the nature of speed as relative to observers. Participants examine the implications of relativistic speeds on mass and black hole formation, with references to theoretical frameworks and specific examples.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants assert that general relativity predicts a sufficiently compact mass can deform spacetime to form a black hole, questioning if an object traveling near light speed gains infinite mass and thus becomes a black hole.
  • Others challenge the notion of "infinite mass," arguing that no mass can reach the speed of light and that black holes form under specific conditions related to rest mass.
  • A participant emphasizes that speed is relative and questions whether the status of being a black hole depends on the observer's frame of reference.
  • Some argue that the concept of mass increasing with speed is only relevant in specific contexts and does not imply that an object becomes a black hole.
  • Several participants highlight the importance of initial mass and rest mass in discussions about black hole formation, suggesting that relativistic effects do not change the fundamental nature of mass.
  • There is a mention of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and the practical implications of achieving high speeds without forming black holes.
  • One participant introduces the idea that physical laws remain unchanged at high speeds, and the perceived increase in mass is an external observation rather than a physical transformation of the object itself.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express multiple competing views on the relationship between speed, mass, and black hole formation. There is no consensus on whether an object traveling near the speed of light could become a black hole, and the discussion remains unresolved with ongoing debate about the underlying principles.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the dependence on definitions of mass and speed, as well as unresolved mathematical interpretations of relativistic effects. The discussion also highlights the complexity of applying general relativity and special relativity principles to the question at hand.

propelera
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The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole.
.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_hole

and we know that when object travels near the speed of light it gains infinite mass, so does it means that it becomes a black hole?
 
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"Travels near the speed of light" relative to what? Speed is always relative to a given observer. Are you saying that wheter or not a star is a black hole depends upon the observer?
 
I am saying that when object travels near the speed of light (300'000 km/s relative to the point where it started to move), it gains infinite mass (from Einstein's formula E = mc2). So object with infinite mass will become a black hole (wikipedia link in my first post). If it is NOT true than tell me why?
 
propelera said:
I am saying that when object travels near the speed of light (300'000 km/s relative to the point where it started to move), it gains infinite mass (from Einstein's formula E = mc2). So object with infinite mass will become a black hole (wikipedia link in my first post). If it is NOT true than tell me why?

You yourself, RIGHT NOW, are moving at 99.99999% of the speed of light relative to some frame of reference. Are you a black hole?
 
CERN would have done it by now if it were that easy :P
 
phinds said:
You yourself, RIGHT NOW, are moving at 99.99999% of the speed of light relative to some frame of reference. Are you a black hole?

Yes you are true but I am NOT moving with the speed of light relative to my starting location. This is very important. Object can't move faster than speed of light relative to it's starting position.

CERN would have done it by now if it were that easy :P

None is telling you that it is easy
 
first of all, a black hole does not have infinite mass.

furthermore, anything with a definite rest mass can never reach the speed of light.

photons, with zero rest mass, have a definite momentum.
 
propelera said:
Yes you are true but I am NOT moving with the speed of light relative to my starting location. This is very important. Object can't move faster than speed of light relative to it's starting position.

I take it you either did not bother to read, or else did not understand, the explanation given at the link provided.
 
  • #10
propelera said:
Yes you are true but I am NOT moving with the speed of light relative to my starting location. This is very important. Object can't move faster than speed of light relative to it's starting position.


Can't move faster than light relative to ANY position. So why is the starting position important?
 
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  • #11
Here is a nice trick to resolve such difficult comparisons:

Any situation involving a rapidly moving massive body's gravitational effect and a 'stationary' inertial observer can be transformed to an equivalent question about the interaction between a rapidly moving inertial observer and a 'stationary' massive body.

Your 'starting location', whatever that means is irrelevant, the above works for ALL observers.


The quote above is a generalized statement relating to phinds post:

You yourself, RIGHT NOW, are moving at 99.99999% of the speed of light relative to some frame of reference. Are you a black hole?


In addition, your original question:

So object with infinite mass will become a black hole (wikipedia link in my first post). If it is NOT true than tell me why?

is impossible to realize because no mass can travel at speed 'c'...
 
  • #12
phinds said:
You yourself, RIGHT NOW, are moving at 99.99999% of the speed of light relative to some frame of reference. Are you a black hole?
propelera said:
Yes you are true but I am NOT moving with the speed of light relative to my starting location. This is very important. Object can't move faster than light with respect to it's starting position
Please reconsider phinds' point here. As he said, there are reference frames where you are moving at .9999999 c. Furthermore, your objection is both irrelevant and wrong. It is irrelevant because the speed wrt the starting location is not important in physics and wrong because you can move faster than c away from your starting location in any frame where your starting location is moving. (assuming that by starting location you are thinking of an object rather than a coordinate).
 
  • #13
i think no,black holes create when a star dies,in this case there will be no formation of black holes
 
  • #14
propelera said:
I am saying that when object travels near the speed of light (300'000 km/s relative to the point where it started to move), it gains infinite mass (from Einstein's formula E = mc2). So object with infinite mass will become a black hole (wikipedia link in my first post). If it is NOT true than tell me why?
This has already been explained in several ways, but here's one more try: a black hole is assumed to form when the proper mass (also called rest mass, or just mass) reaches a critical value. Many laws/descriptions are only valid for an object "in rest" and this is one of them.
 
  • #15
Indeed initial mass is important here. When an object gaines speed we might say it gaines mass, but only because mass is calculated as force/accelleration. Also the extra mass is only measured in the direction of the moving object. Happily at the LHC the protons become 700 times heavier (at 99.9999*c) to get them around but not heavier relative to earth.
Another remark I like to make is that when an object travels near the speed of light the fysical laws do not change. It does not become smaller or heavier. Only to some external observer it is an object with high kinetic energy and very hard to push any further.
 
  • #16
There is no such thing as 'infinite mass', which is why it's impossible for an object with nonzero invariant (rest) mass to accelerate to light speed in the first place. You can't pour unending amounts of energy into a system to make it move at c, because unending amounts of energy don't exist.

Also, only a bit unrelated to your question is bringing the quantum fluctuations of the type associated with virtual particles into the argument. Because, even if an infinite amount of energy could manifest due to such fluctuations (it can't, as far as I know), the energy would have to be 'repaid' to the vacuum within the limit of uncertainty of the measurement, which is a very short interval. In other words, it's not "usable" energy.
 
  • #17
Naty1 said:
Your 'starting location', whatever that means is irrelevant, the above works for ALL observers.

Quite right. That's basic SR, which states that "The laws of physics are the same in all inertial frames of reference." It's also an integral part of GR in the (generalized) form of the equivalence principle, which boils down to the postulate that the laws of physics are the same in ALL frames of reference, inertial or not.
 

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