What shape is a black hole, is it is incorrect to call this phenomena a hole?

Question

When we think of a black hole, we picture in our minds eye a two diminsional plane with a funnel shaped hole. This veiw is limiting especially if a black hole is three dimensional entity similar to our sun.

In earlier times people thought the sun was actually a large flood lamp like the ones they use in hollywood. (no doubt some people who actually still believe the sun is a large flood lamp will have difficulty resisting this question.)

If you think black holes exist as three dimensional entities attracting/emitting matter omnidirectionally, please share your veiw.

Answer 1

The original solutions to Einsteins equations was the Schwarzchild geometry. It decribes the spacetime geometry around a gravitating mass that is otherwise in a vacuum. It turns out that the Schwartzchild solution is only half of the 'completed' solution (called the Koszul solution). In that, there is a type of four dimensional hole connecting two flat spacetimes. So the description 'black hole' is fairly accurate there. However, it is not known whether the full Koszul solution would actually be possible in a real sitation involving a collapsing star. Essentially, the 'other half' of the Koszul solution would be masked by the mass of the star before the collapse and not develop afterwards.

Answer 2

You are correct to point out that the analogy of the infinitely heavy speck stretching the infinitely elastic plane of space into a funnel shaped hole is only an analogy.

However, remember a couple of things: first a black hole itself may have no size; it may be infinitesimal; a mere gravitational point-source. Second, we cannot see the black hole, only the event horizon. Third, the black hole will looks the same to us from every side.

(This last follows from the fact that every substance takes on a spherical shape if there is enough graivty. A black hole has enough gravity for anything. Any substance entering it will flow. So we may think of it as a sphere.)

The event horizon will be a spherical region around the hole unless we introduce frame-dragging spatial distortion. I believe that some mathematical models represent the ergosphere of a black hole as shaped roughly like Saturn-- a sphere with an equatorial plane like a ring.

However, if we are close enough to the black hole for it to matter-- that is, if we are in danger from it-- it will appear to behave very similar to the funnel-shaped model you refer to. If you begin to fall in, you will fall faster and faster as the curvature of the funnel increases. But we don't know exactly what will happen after you fall in.

Say, that sounds like a great idea for a super hero! A guy who fell in to a black hole, and the hero is the virtual particle image of him that was released just outside the Schwartzchild radius and flew home at the speed of light! He broods over the fact that the real man whose mind and memories he has is dead, or at least unreachable. He feels inferior in that he is not the original but only an image. Even all his powers will not compensate for that.

Answer 3

its hard to explain for me all I imagine is a bunch of matter so density creats enough gravitational pull to suck in light. Im not sure of their shapel. As you know a Black hole can become almost infinetly dense (from our knowledge) THEY SUCK UP MORE AND MORE MATTER becoming more dense. A black hole itself emits very little matter maybe and atom or so every know and then. In reality it suck up more then it emits. But anyway the black hole gets smaller and smaller until it reaches something called singularity. Im not sure of the facts im going to tell you next but just consider them. the inner part of the black hole is where the matter eventually ends up. Making the inside of it the strongest. Their is also something called the evet horizon which i think when something get in it cant escape. I think the black. I dont think the black hole itself spirals. I think its a combination of the centriphical force and gravity. These are the two forces that keep our planet orbiting. Well anyway the gravity is very powerful so the centriphical force generated is also very powerful, but the gravity is stronger, so the things its sucking in spin around it for however long because of these two forces, and the thing eventually get sucked up.

Hope this helped you understand i gained this knowledge from books and the web

Answer 4

Hi. Actually black holes are the closest thing to 4 dimensional object that I can think of. Time (the 4th) gets distorted as severely as the physical 3.

Answer 5

The closest three-dimensional shape a black hole is like would be a sphere, because the intense gravity it exerts would be evenly distributed all over the "hole".

Answer 6

From what I've read, the physics to explain what a black hole shape or what happens near one don't yet exist. It's not very surprising when you find out that Scientists don't really know what gravity is. They know what causes it and it's effects, but what it is they really have no solid idea.

Answer 7

Supposedly, it is a singularity, that is, a point with no dimensions and no volume. Just gravity and mass. The event horizon would probably be spherical.

Nobody in ancient times thought the sun was a large floodlamp. There were no floodlamps back then.

Answer 8

The shape is determined by the rate of rotation: a non rotating black hole is spherical; a rotating black hole looks like a flattened sphere.

Answer 9

The representations I have seen of BHs are of a more or less round shape; with that gravity what much could really stick up from the "surface"?

;-)

Answer 10

search yahoo to find the picture of a black hole that was on the daily front page.it's awsome and it will give everyone the visuall that your looking for.i put it on my desk top screen!