Black Holes

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time slows down relative to that of distant observers, stopping
completely on the horizon. Once a body has contracted within its
Schwarzschild radius, it would theoretically collapse to a singularity—that
is, a dimensionless object of infinite density.

Formation

Black holes may form during the course of stellar evolution. As
nuclear fuels are exhausted in the core of a star, the pressure associated
with their heat is no longer available to resist contraction of the core to
ever higher densities. Two new types of pressure arise at densities a
million and a million billion times that of water, respectively, and a
compact white dwarf or a neutron star may form. If the core mass exceeds
about 1. 7 solar masses, however, neither electron nor neutron pressure is
sufficient to prevent collapse to a black hole.
Astronomers have discovered X-ray emissions from a binary star
system, Cygnus X-1, in which the primary is a normal star of about 30 solar
masses. Doppler ...

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