A small message about a black hole, how to explain it to a child. Black holes - an explanation for children

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"Black Hole"

“What's new in space? Black holes? Not only astronomers, but also those who are interested in the life of the universe, including curious schoolchildren, would like to look into them,” said Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences E. Levitan.

In popular science literature, in articles about the Universe, you can often find the term “black hole”. When you read this phrase for the first time, you immediately have an image of, say, a hole in the wall. The mention of holes in the Universes is also initially associated with a certain hole in the heavens. So, what is a black hole?

Black hole - this is a cosmic object of incredible density, possessing absolute gravity, such that any cosmic body and even space and time itself are absorbed by it, this is a kind of end point of everything.

"Black Hole" a little like a vacuum cleaner that works in space, but unlike a vacuum cleaner, black holes do not suck in all the objects in their zone of influence, but, using their gravity, they only attract everything around them. This is called the vacuum effect (lack of air), which you can observe at home in your room. When the vacuum cleaner is turned on while cleaning a room, you can observe how crumbs, dirt and small objects begin to move towards the vacuum cleaner. A black hole does not have as strong a suction force as a vacuum cleaner, so space objects are not sucked into it, but are only attracted.

What does a black hole do? Black holes control the very evolution of the Universe. They are in a central place, but they cannot be seen, their signs can be detected, although black holes have the property of destroying, they also help build galaxies.

How is a black hole born? When a large star runs out of fuel, it can no longer support its weight. Pressure from massive layers of hydrogen causes the star to shrink smaller and smaller. Eventually, the star will become smaller than an atom. Imagine for a moment that the entire star would be crushed into a point smaller than an atom.

How can something be smaller, but retain the same amount of mass? It's actually very simple. Let's take a sponge the size of a bottle; we can easily crush it in our hands. But here's an interesting point. If we do anything less by squeezing it, its gravity becomes stronger. Imagine if we compress a star into the size of an atom, how powerful would its gravity become? Gravity black the hole is so powerful that it absorbs everything, even light that passes too close. That's right, even light can't escape a black hole.

Structure of a black hole: Black holes are made up of three main parts.) The outer layer of a black hole is called the outer event horizon. Inside the outer event horizon, you can still escape the black hole's gravity because gravity is not as strong here. The middle layer of a black hole is called the inner event horizon. The center of a black hole is called the Singularity. This strange word means a crushed star. The singularity is the place where the black hole's gravity is strongest.

What happens if you get into it? It's very interesting here. For an observer from Earth, it will be visible how the one who flew towards the black hole instantly fell into it and disappeared. And the one who flies up to it will slowly, slowly approach, the clock will go slower and slower, everything will slow down (this happens because the black hole bends (disturbs) the space (world) around itself.

What do scientists think about black holes? Some scientists believe that black holes are gateways to parallel universes, which could very well be the case.

Now it is clear that a black hole is a completely mysterious phenomenon in Space, about which humanity knows practically nothing. Therefore, any new information about them becomes a sensation. And since the study of black holes is almost impossible in space, their analogues are studied on Earth and create models.

Analogues of “black holes” on Earth .

- bodies of such enormous proportions that it is difficult for a person to comprehend them. But on Earth, it turns out, there is a “miniature” analogue of these . And these analogues were recently discovered in the South Atlantic Ocean

An analogue of the space monster was created in a Chinese laboratory - it is capable of sucking in light.

“Black holes” will make it possible to create a new generation of solar cells that can capture the energy of the sun much more efficiently than current ones.

Models of "black holes".

Combining the knowledge of the world's leading physicists about black holes with cutting-edge visual effects, Interstellar showed the most accurate model of a black hole in the history of science fiction. Leading world scientists have proposed using Hollywood sci-fi movie "Interstellar" as a teaching aid for children on black holes

Scientists conducted experiments simulating "in the bathroom" black holes with their event horizon.

Ripple in the stream behaves almost exactly like light waves in space-time. Near the stone, the flow becomes heterogeneous, the ripples bend, and the wavelengths change. The same thing happens with light in the gravitational fields of stars and planets. In some cases, the flow is so fast that the ripples cannot travel upstream, like light unable to escape from a black hole.

What do a drop of water, a black hole and an atom have in common? A group of British scientists led by Professor turned to a drop of water because the forces of surface tension that keep it intact can be used as an analogue of other forces acting in other objects, from an atom to a black hole.

Another interesting model of a “black hole” was created in Novosibirsk Planetarium. One of the entertaining games for children. It is very interesting to compare at what speed and how heavy and light balls are pulled into the hole. Naturally, the heavy one lasts the longest.

How to clearly show and imagine a “black hole”?

How can we clearly show and imagine a “black hole” so that it is easier for us to understand its structure?

Imagine a black hole in the form of a waterfall, gravity in the form of a river flowing towards a waterfall, and a beam of light in the form of a kayak. Higher up from the waterfall, the current is weak; a person in a boat can row against the current and get out. But the closer you get to the waterfall, the stronger the current and the more difficult it is to get out. The edge of a waterfall is the edge of a black hole. Despite all the strength of the man in the boat, he falls. It's the same in space.

To visualize the “Black Hole,” let’s take a large piece of cling film, stretch it in our hands and place a small ball in the center so that it forms a deflection due to its weight. Let's drop a few drops of water onto the sheet and watch them roll down the film directly to the ball. This will show how gravity works. Let's remove the ball and touch the film with our finger and determine how far we pull it back (the heavier the object), the stronger the funnel turns out. Then we'll make a hole in the middle of the film, which represents a very, very heavy object. Drops of water will slip through this hole. It turns out that a black hole is such a heavy object that it bends space. Everything that goes into it (like drops) never comes back."

>Black holes

What's happened black hole– explanation for children: description with photos, how to find the Universe in space, how stars appear, the death, supermassive black holes of galaxies.

For the little ones parents or at school should explain that perceiving a black hole as an empty space is a grave mistake. On the contrary, an incredible amount of matter is concentrated in it, which is confined in a small space. To explanation for children was more colorful, just imagine if you took a star 10 times more massive than the Sun and tried to squeeze it into an area the size of New York City. Due to this pressure, the gravitational field becomes so strong that no one, not even a light beam, can escape. With the development of technology, NASA is able to learn more and more about these mysterious objects.

Begin explanation for children This can be explained by the fact that the term “black hole” did not exist until 1967 (coined by John Wheeler). But before this, for several centuries it was mentioned about the existence of strange objects that, due to their density and massiveness, do not release light. They were even predicted by Albert Einstein in his general theory of relativity. She proved that when a massive star dies, a small dense core remains. If a star is three times the mass of the sun, then gravity overcomes other forces, and we get a black hole.

Of course it's important explain to the children that researchers are unable to observe these features directly (telescopes only detect light, X-rays and other forms of electromagnetic radiation), so there is no need to wait for a photo of a black hole. But it is possible to calculate their location and even determine their size due to the influence they have on surrounding objects. For example, if it passes through a cloud of interstellar matter, then in the process it will begin to draw matter inward - accretion. The same thing will happen if a star passes nearby. True, a star can explode.

At the moment of attraction, the substance heats up and accelerates, releasing x-rays into space. Recent discoveries have spotted several powerful bursts of gamma rays, demonstrating the hole's devouring of nearby stars. At this moment, they stimulate the growth of some and stop others.

The death of a star is the beginning of a black hole

Most black holes arise from the leftover material of dying large stars (supernova explosions). Smaller stars become dense neutron stars, which lack the massiveness to trap light. If the mass of a star is 3 times greater than that of the Sun, then it becomes a candidate for a black hole. Important explain to the children one oddity. When a star collapses, its surface approaches an imaginary surface (event horizon). Time on the star itself becomes slower than that of the observer. When the surface reaches the event horizon, time freezes and the star can no longer collapse - a frozen, collapsing object.

Larger black holes can appear after a stellar collision. After its launch in December 2004, the NASA telescope was able to detect strong, fleeting flashes of light - gamma rays. Chandra and Hubble then collected data on the event and realized that these flares could be the result of a collision between a black hole and a neutron star, which creates a new black hole.

Although in the process of education children And parents We've already figured it out, but one thing remains a mystery. The holes seem to exist on two different scales. There are many black holes - the remains of massive stars. Typically, they are 10-24 times more massive than the Sun. Scientists constantly see them if an alien star comes critically close. But most black holes exist in isolation and simply cannot be seen. However, judging by the number of stars large enough to be black hole candidates, there must be tens of millions of billions of such black holes in the Milky Way.

There are also supermassive black holes, which are a million or even a billion times larger than our Sun. It is believed that such monsters live in the centers of almost all large galaxies (including ours).

For the little ones It will be interesting to know that for a long time scientists believed that there was no average size for black holes. But data from Chandra, XMM-Newton and Hubble show that they are there.

It is possible that supermassive black holes arise from a chain reaction caused by the collision of stars in compact clusters. Because of this, a lot of massive stars accumulate, which collapse and produce black holes. These clusters then occupy the galactic center, where the black holes merge and become a supermassive member.

You may have realized by now that you won't be able to view a black hole in high quality online because these objects don't emit light. But children will be interested in studying photographs and diagrams created based on the contact of black holes and ordinary matter.

What are black holes?

Children, do you think you could ever see the effect of a vacuum in your room? When you do something, watch carefully because you may see dirt and crumbs start to move towards the vacuum cleaner. A black hole is like a vacuum cleaner, but only in space. However, it is not the powerful suction that causes things to fall into the black hole. The suction will not be strong enough. Instead, the black hole uses gravity to pull in everything around it.

How are black holes formed? Explanation for children

When a large star runs out of fuel, it can no longer support its weight. Pressure from massive layers of hydrogen causes the star to shrink smaller and smaller. Eventually, the star will become smaller than an atom. Imagine, children, for a moment that the entire star will be crushed into a point smaller than an atom.

How can something be smaller, but retain the same amount of mass?

It's actually very simple. Take a bottle-sized sponge, you can easily crush it in your hands. But here's an interesting point. If you do anything less by squeezing it, its gravity becomes stronger. Imagine kids, if you compress a star into the size of an atom, how powerful will its gravity become?

The gravity of a black hole is so powerful that it absorbs everything, even light that passes too close. That's right, even light can't escape a black hole.

The structure of a black hole. Astronomy for children

Black holes are made up of three main parts. The outer layer of a black hole is called the outer event horizon. Inside the outer event horizon, you can still escape the black hole's gravity because gravity is not as strong here. The middle layer of a black hole is called the inner event horizon. If you didn't escape the black hole's gravity before you entered the inner event horizon, then you kids missed your chance. The force of gravity in this layer is much stronger and does not let go of the objects it grabs. At this point, you begin to fall towards the center of the black hole. The center of a black hole is called the Singularity. This strange word means a crushed star. The singularity is the place where the black hole's gravity is strongest.

How can you get into a black hole?

Think about the Earth. If you get too close to the Earth, you run into its gravity. On Earth, you could fly into space on a rocket again. However, if you fall into a black hole, then you children have no way to get out, since gravity is very strong.

Mysterious and elusive black holes. The laws of physics confirm the possibility of their existence in the universe, but many questions still remain. Numerous observations show that holes exist in the universe and there are more than a million of these objects.

What are black holes?

Back in 1915, when solving Einstein’s equations, such a phenomenon as “black holes” was predicted. However, the scientific community became interested in them only in 1967. They were then called “collapsed stars”, “frozen stars”.

Nowadays, a black hole is a region of time and space that has such gravity that even a ray of light cannot escape from it.

How are black holes formed?

There are several theories for the appearance of black holes, which are divided into hypothetical and realistic. The simplest and most widespread realistic one is the theory of gravitational collapse of large stars.

When a sufficiently massive star, before “death,” grows in size and becomes unstable, using up its last fuel. At the same time, the mass of the star remains unchanged, but its size decreases as the so-called densification occurs. In other words, when compacted, the heavy core “falls” into itself. In parallel with this, compaction leads to a sharp increase in the temperature inside the star and the outer layers of the celestial body break away, from which new stars are formed. At the same time, in the center of the star, the core falls into its own “center”. As a result of the action of gravitational forces, the center collapses to a point - that is, the gravitational forces are so strong that they absorb the compacted core. This is how a black hole is born, which begins to distort space and time so that even light cannot escape from it.

At the center of all galaxies is a supermassive black hole. According to Einstein's theory of relativity:

“Any mass distorts space and time.”

Now imagine how much a black hole distorts time and space, because its mass is enormous and at the same time squeezed into an ultra-small volume. This ability causes the following oddity:

“Black holes have the ability to practically stop time and compress space. Because of this extreme distortion, the holes become invisible to us.”

If black holes are not visible, how do we know they exist?

Yes, even though a black hole is invisible, it should be noticeable due to the matter that falls into it. As well as stellar gas, which is attracted by a black hole, when approaching the event horizon, the temperature of the gas begins to rise to ultra-high values, which leads to a glow. This is why black holes glow. Thanks to this, albeit weak, glow, astronomers and astrophysicists explain the presence in the center of the galaxy of an object with a small volume but a huge mass. Currently, as a result of observations, about 1000 objects have been discovered that are similar in behavior to black holes.

Black holes and galaxies

How can black holes affect galaxies? This question plagues scientists all over the world. There is a hypothesis according to which it is the black holes located in the center of the galaxy that influence its shape and evolution. And that when two galaxies collide, black holes merge and during this process such a huge amount of energy and matter is released that new stars are formed.

Types of black holes

• According to existing theory, there are three types of black holes: stellar, supermassive, and miniature. And each of them was formed in a special way.
• - Black holes of stellar masses, it grows to enormous sizes and collapses.
  - Supermassive black holes, which can have a mass equivalent to millions of Suns, are likely to exist at the centers of almost all galaxies, including our Milky Way. Scientists still have different hypotheses for the formation of supermassive black holes. So far, only one thing is known - supermassive black holes are a by-product of the formation of galaxies. Supermassive black holes - they differ from ordinary ones in that they have a very large size, but paradoxically low density.
• - No one has yet been able to detect a miniature black hole that would have a mass less than the Sun. It is possible that miniature holes could have formed shortly after the “Big Bang”, which is the exact beginning of the existence of our universe (about 13.7 billion years ago).
• - Quite recently, a new concept was introduced as “white black holes”. This is still a hypothetical black hole, which is the opposite of a black hole. Stephen Hawking actively studied the possibility of the existence of white holes.
• - Quantum black holes - they exist only in theory so far. Quantum black holes can be formed when ultra-small particles collide as a result of a nuclear reaction.
• - Primary black holes are also a theory. They were formed immediately after their origin.

At the moment, there are a large number of open questions that have yet to be answered by future generations. For example, can so-called “wormholes” really exist, with the help of which one can travel through space and time. What exactly happens inside a black hole and what laws these phenomena obey. And what about the disappearance of information in a black hole?

In a new astronomy video lesson, the professor will talk about how black holes are formed and why they are dangerous.

How black holes form

Black holes cannot be touched and you cannot walk through them. Black holes are regions in space-time that form a super-powerful attraction. Attraction bends space and time, which means that inside a black hole there are no straight lines, space is crumpled and intertwined. If a star forms near a black hole, the gravitational forces of the black hole will tear the star apart and it will disappear into the depths of the hole. If something falls into a black hole, it stays there forever. To overcome the powerful attraction of a black hole, it is necessary to develop a speed greater than the speed of light, but this, alas, is impossible. Scientists do not know exactly how supermassive black holes are formed, but with ordinary black holes everything is more or less clear. During the evolution of a star, hydrogen gradually burns out, and accordingly its amount decreases, which leads to the fact that the force of light pressure begins to exceed the force of gravitational compression. The star greatly increases in size and turns into a red giant, which subsequently explodes. After the explosion, compression begins, then the star cools down and becomes not directly visible. But, if the mass of the red giant remnant exceeds the solar mass by 2-2.5 times, then its compression cannot stop, since the gravitational force completely suppresses the resistance to compression, as a result, this remnant is compressed into a dense tiny body, as if closing in on itself. And it is at this moment of gravitational collapse (compression) that black holes are formed. As a result, it turns out that the mass is concentrated in such a small area that even the speed of light is not enough to leave its vicinity. Hence the first part of the name is black, since it can even absorb light. The second part - the hole - means that everything that falls into the region of the black hole becomes forever inaccessible to observation.