A Trip to a Black Hole Trivia Quiz

Answer: greater than the speed of light

Steven remembers that the escape velocity of a black hole is greater than the speed of light. Therefore, not even light can escape a black hole. Because there is nothing that is faster than light, nothing can escape from a black hole. The numerical answer is the speed of light.

Answer: event horizon

The event horizon is in the shape of a sphere, and, to an observer, would appear black. The event horizon is not a physically solid feature of the black hole, but it does hide all that goes on inside because light cannot escape from within.

Answer: stop before crossing the event horizon

From his perspective, Steven will never see the parts cross the event horizon. In fact, any observer from a safe distance will only be able to see the object just before it crosses the event horizon. This is because once the object crosses the event horizon the light that the parts emit cannot reach outside the event horizon.

The parts will seem to be moving slower and slower, but will never seem to cross the "point of no return".

Answer: No

The radio waves will be stretched, and will have smaller frequencies with longer wavelengths. This could distort the transmission that the ship outside would receive. Plus, the radio waves would take longer to travel to the ship than a wave traveling without the effects of a black hole because the waves would have to travel a longer distance, since the area around a black hole has a more steeply curved spacetime.

Answer: singularity

By the time Steven realizes he's crossed the event horizon he'll probably be dead. But for the sake of this educational quiz, he remains alive. Within a few seconds he will enter the singularity, or the "center" of the black hole. This center is not a well defined area.

It is theorized to have zero volume and is infinitely dense. But, most well established theories cannot explain the concept of a zero-volume singularity.

Answer: Yes

Although people outside cannot see Steven inside the black hole, he can still see things that are outside. The light is still entering the black hole, allowing Steven to see distant objects. The images will appear distorted because the pull of gravity will bend the light. It is theorized that objects will appear bluer.

Answer: spaghettification

Even before Steven enters the black hole, he would have felt the effects of "spaghettification". Let's say that Steven is entering feet first. His feet would feel stretched out because the gravitational pull on his feet would be greater than on his head. The same would apply for any other object entering the event horizon, including the space shuttle.

Answer: black hole information paradox

The black hole information paradox is troubling to the science community, but is based off of conjecture and speculation. No one knows exactly what happens within a black hole. So, it is unclear whether or not the information will be destroyed or lost to the outside world forever.

Answer: black holes rotate like stars

Roy Kerr's theory predicts that black holes must rotate like stars. A black hole that rotates is theorized to have several inner event horizons that have strange effects on objects passing between them. One of them is that they can possibly form a wormhole that will cause an object to emerge into another universe.

However, this theory has no real evidence. Even if Steven's crew happen to emerge from a black hole their ship would have probably been deformed by spaghettification.

Answer: all of these

In the 1970's, Stephen Hawking released a theory that states how the black holes can eventually shrink and disappear by emitting radiation. Photons and heat are also considered forms of radiation; photons are electromagnetic radiation and heat emission occurs in the form of photons (thermal radiation). This theory has not been proven yet, and is still debated today. However, it does provide an explanation for many of the enormous spots of radiation found in outer space.

And so ends the story of Steven and his crew.