Is Space Really Falling Faster Than Light Near a Black Hole?

In summary, the article discusses the concept of space falling faster than light near black holes, as described by physicist Andrew J.S. Hamilton. However, this idea is not supported by any theories and is rather meaningless. The article also mentions Hamilton's river model of black holes, comparing them to waterfalls. However, the relative size and state of Niagara Falls compared to a black hole is inaccurate.
  • #1
jobyts
227
64
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/04/27/falling.into.black.hole/index.html

In this article, in couple of places they mention about space moving faster than light. It's incorrect, right?


(from the article)
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Hamilton also described them as places where space is falling faster than light.
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Once you pass the horizon -- or go over Niagara Falls, in the waterfall analogy -- you would be falling faster than the speed of light toward the black hole's center -- called a singularity -- and feeling the effects, Hamilton said.
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  • #2
space is falling faster than light
This assertion is almost meaningless. What is meant by "space falling"?

you would be falling faster than the speed of light toward the black hole's center

No one knows what happens inside a black hole - the assertion has no basis in any theory.
 
  • #3
The article appears to be referring to Hamilton's river model-

'The river model of black holes'
Andrew J. S. Hamilton, Jason P. Lisle
http://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/0411060
 
  • #4
"I think of a black hole as rather like a waterfall, except it's not a fall of water but rather a fall of space... Once you pass the horizon -- or go over Niagara Falls, in the waterfall analogy -- you would be falling faster than the speed of light toward the black hole's center -- called a singularity -- and feeling the effects,” Hamilton said.
mathman said:
This assertion is almost meaningless. What is meant by "space falling"?

The relative size and state and dimension of Niagara Black Hole Mass Falls is grossly inaccurate.
Place an electromagnetic barrier out from across lip of Niagara Falls.
matter.earth

“Mass sucks” is tighter fit.
Consider poor rubber ducky lost down black hole drain in verse fluent vortex.
The speed of vortex by black hole drain exceeds even speed by ducky waves.

Peace
ron

Please forgive.
 

1. What is a black hole?

A black hole is a region in space with such a strong gravitational pull that even light cannot escape from it. It is formed when a massive star dies and its core collapses in on itself.

2. How are black holes detected?

Black holes cannot be directly observed because they do not emit any light. They can be detected by observing the effects of their gravitational pull on surrounding matter, or by detecting the X-rays emitted from the hot gas and dust falling into the black hole.

3. Can anything escape from a black hole?

Once an object crosses the event horizon of a black hole, it cannot escape. This includes light, making black holes appear completely black and invisible.

4. What is the significance of the recent black hole article on CNN?

The article on CNN reported the first ever observed image of a black hole, captured by the Event Horizon Telescope project. This image provides strong evidence for the existence of black holes and can help us better understand their properties and behavior.

5. Are there different types of black holes?

There are three main types of black holes: stellar, intermediate, and supermassive. Stellar black holes are formed from the collapse of a single massive star, intermediate black holes are larger than stellar black holes but smaller than supermassive black holes, and supermassive black holes are found at the center of most galaxies, including our own Milky Way.

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