Expert: Jayendra Upadhye - 3/27/2008

Question
Hi Jayen! It's the Black Hole guy, again. One last question, I forgot to include in the other request: If a Black Hole has such powerful gravity, that not even Light can escape, how do they emit X-Ray or Gamma Rays, that I have seen in the special pictures?
My guess at an answer would be that the X-Rays, or other waves that are detected, have a HIGHER energy than Light Waves, and are strong enough to escape the massive Gravity Well. As you can tell, I am fascinated by Black Holes, and with there was a way for me to be on a mission to fly into one, and survive to Tell the Tale of the expeience. I am told that time would slow way down, at the edge of the event horizon. Well, thanks again, Jayen, and Good Luck in your career.               Sincerely, Mike

Answer
Mike!
I thought i had answered you sometime back, but could not recollect.
Now reading your question confirms my memory.

Thank you for wishing me luck in my career!

Coming to your question, the "escaping rays" can escape because they are generated well before the event horizon.

The hole itself is a singularity (a point with no width length and hieght). The event horizon represents a spherical volume centered on the hole. Anything inside that limit "cannot escape". Period.

What does happen is that matter entering the horizon, is subjected to a violent whirling in an "accretion disk". The disk emerges out of purely random forces, as matter spirals into the hole.

It is like a meat shredder! the tidal forces (radial gratient or change in gravitational intensity per unit radius) is so great that any two atoms just a few mm across will be pulled apart! As the whirling matter approaches the horizon, the tides become even more severe, ripping individual atoms apart!

This results in collossal amounts of radiant enrgy to be generated due to the HEATING up of this shredded matter. Following compton's rule, the individual atoms relax into lower energy states by pumping off energy as x ray and gamma ray photons!

These are the rays we see!

Hope that solves your rpoblem.

regards.

As usual, please do rate the answer.

Jayen