First image ever of black hole!

[Mel Fulks]

Can a black hole be filled in ? Or would it remain a junk magnet regardless of how much it's already consumed?
P.S. I have tried to write in layman' terms for those who's TV watching is less scientifically inclined .

[John K Jordan]

Can a black hole be filled in ? Or would it remain a junk magnet regardless of how much it's already consumed?
P.S. I have tried to write in layman' terms for those who's TV watching is less scientifically inclined .

Yikes, how are those who don't watch TV at all going to understand??

I think that black holes are supposed to expand as they take in mass, increasing the Schwarzschild radius. I don't know for sure since I never got close enough to see one grow.

Have to study on whether there is a theoretical maximum size and mass but I suspect not.

JKJ

[Doug Dawson]

Can a black hole be filled in ? Or would it remain a junk magnet regardless of how much it's already consumed?

Yes, they will take all the stuff you are willing to throw in to them. Flashlights, tape measures, pencils, even socks. Definitely box cutters. Probably wrenches too, or at least that's what I suspect.

[Pat Barry]

Yes, they will take all the stuff you are willing to throw in to them. Flashlights, tape measures, pencils, even socks. Definitely box cutters. Probably wrenches too, or at least that's what I suspect.

Just like blowing more air into a balloon that will never pop.

[Brett Luna]

Back in the early '80's a friend gave me a book from the local planetarium titled 'Black Holes and wardped space time". Some above have mentioned 'event horizon' isn't very descriptive. This book explained the event horizon as simply the points in space in which the gravity from a black hole begins tugging at any nearby mass;

Not quite. The event horizon (EH) is the spherical "shell" of points at which the escape velocity of the black hole is equal to the speed of light. Once an object sails beyond that 'horizon', it's 'event' can no longer be observed. But a black hole can begin tugging on another object far outside of its EH.

Imagine if the Sun suddenly turned into a black hole. Not that it could...it doesn't have enough mass. But if it could and did, we'd sure notice the lack of sunlight but Earth's orbit would remain unchanged. The new black hole would have the same mass as the old Sun and it would tug on Earth with the same strength at that distance. Even Mercury wouldn't notice a change in orbit being that far away from an event horizon that's only 6 kilometers (~3¾ miles) in diameter. But things do get very hairy when you stray very close to an EH. Google "spaghettification" sometime, if you're of a mind to.

Can a black hole be filled in ? Or would it remain a junk magnet regardless of how much it's already consumed?
P.S. I have tried to write in layman' terms for those who's TV watching is less scientifically inclined .

No, the analogy of it being a hole breaks down completely in that regard. Adding stuff to it just makes it a bigger 'hole.' The increase is usually very small...infinitesimal, even...compared to the total mass. Unless you happen to throw something big at it. Like another black hole. In related news, you may have heard about the first detection of gravitational waves a few years ago. Those waves were the result of two black holes merging into a bigger one.

On the other hand, a black hole can evaporate. It just takes a really, really long time.

[Mel Fulks]

Thanks Brett. I will look up the spaghetfication tonight.

[Jerome Stanek]

A donut without a hole is a bagle And how do you see something that isn't there

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Can a black hole be filled in ? Or would it remain a junk magnet regardless of how much it's already consumed?
P.S. I have tried to write in layman' terms for those who's TV watching is less scientifically inclined .

No- I have been trying my whole life to fill one in with tape measures, 10mm sockets, and various other small tools to no avail.

[Pat Barry]

A donut without a hole is a bagle And how do you see something that isn't there

Sorry, bagels have holes, just like donuts.

[Tony Zona]

Mariners will recognize their sailboats as black holes for money.