A star dies, causing an intense matter explosion. The resulting energy causes a rush of matter so strong that space and time warps and folds in on itself, creating a a void. Nothing ever comes out of a black hole, not even light. The vacuum that is formed when space folds in on itself is so strong, anything that comes too close is pulled into a black hole, land of no escape. That's why scientists don't know exactly what's inside a black hole, but they have run computer simulations which have shown what exactly happens when things are sucked into a black hole. To explore an interactive black hole I found, click here.
What scientists know about black holes is fairly simple. A black hole is essentially a giant cone in space. Everything pulled into the void then enters what is known as the event horizon, essentially a long tunnel with a point at the end where nothing can escape. The gravitational pull on a black hole is so strong, in fact, that humans can't survive the fall in-- your body gets stretched out (see simulation). But this is the strange part. Recent science suggests that there is another horizon inside a black hole- the inner horizon. And this is the weird thing: Inside the inner horizon are two cone-like beams. These beams work as giant particle accelerators- sucking matter in and sending it in to one beam or the other. Theories suggest that if matter is sucked into one beam, it will be sent forward in time, and if it is sucked into the other, it will be sent back in time. The diagram above shows exactly what this inner horizon looks like. To learn more about black holes, visit the discover article I read that got me into black holes: http://discovermagazine.com/2011/jun/26-strange-physics-singular-views-inside-black-holes
Random thought for the day: The other day, I discovered a new, awesome, nerdy, chemistry-y website: chemicool.com. Check it out!
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