The universe houses so many secrets that it is humiliating to even think about how much we don’t know. We don’t even know what 96% of the universe is made of! This should give you a sense of just where we are in terms of our understanding of the nature of reality itself.
All of our collective knowledge over the millennia seems like a tiny speck in front of everything that is out there, waiting to be discovered and understood. But it is not for a lack of trying though. We just haven’t had enough time. There is just too much to fathom!
Among these, is the ever enigmatic black hole. A black hole is a region of spacetime exhibiting such strong gravitational effects that nothing, not even light can escape it. While we do know the basic nature of black holes, we are clueless as to what goes on inside it.
For this, we have used the term singularity, which is a fancy scientific way of saying that we don’t know. There have been several theories regarding what would happen if we humans would dare to venture inside of it. They are fascinating to say the least. Let’s take a look.
1. Spaghettification
No, I did not just create that word. That is an actual scientific term used to describe what would happen to your body if you ever travelled inside a black hole. But first, a little lesson time.
Black holes have very, very strong gravity. Such a strong gravity that even light cannot escape it. They have a boundary called, the event horizon. It is sort of a point of no return. Once you cross this event horizon, you won’t be able to return.
So, let’s imagine that we are ‘daring’ enough to actually cross this boundary. What would happen next? Spaghettification, that’s what! Physicists agree that this is the most likely phenomena to occur within a black hole. But what exactly is it?
As you get nearer to the centre, the difference between the gravitational pull that your feet and your head experience, becomes significantly large. So, if you are being pulled at the centre, feet first, the gravitational pull will be much stronger on the lower end of your body causing it to stretch away from your upper body.
This process will continue till you are nothing but a long chain of atoms. This is why it is called spaghettification. Needless to say, this will be your end.
2. Time Travel
One thing that everyone knows about black holes is that they warp time. That means, time slows down near a black hole. In fact, time slows down near any massive body.
So, keeping this in my mind, Einstein and Hawking, two of the greatest physicists ever, have theorised that time travelling can in fact be possible by using a black hole.
When near or inside a black hole, time would slow down for you by a great factor while it would be normal for your best friend on Earth. So, if you travel back to Earth after being near a black hole or being inside one (highly unlikely), you would still be the same age, while your best friend would have aged a great deal, or might even be dead!
Currently, we do not have any tech that might take advantage of this but there is no telling what the future beholds.
3. Travel To A Parallel Universe
The centre of black hole is something that we do not have the remotest of clues about. Some physicists have theorised that the singularity may be a gateway to a parallel universe.
So, if somehow you manage to get to the centre of a black hole without being horrifyingly killed, you might end up in a parallel universe. Now, this new universe may be same as our universe or it might be vastly different with it’s own laws of physics.
Many physicists believe that ours is not the only universe out there. They theorise that there is an infinite amount of universes out there. They also suggest that there could be gateways throughout the universes to facilitate travel from one to another. Maybe black holes are one way to do that!
So, the next time you are inside a black hole, look for something that might look like a gateway/portal. You might just end up being the first human to go where no man has gone, literally!
So, there you go folks. I hope this has been an entertainingly educational journey for you!
