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asd11
final sky

Registered: 08/02/04
Posts: 501
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Black Holes are "Green"
#5556910 - 04/25/06 11:07 PM (18 years, 28 days ago) |
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NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory Finds Black Holes are "Green"
Black holes are the most fuel efficient engines in the universe, according to a new study using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. By making the first direct estimate of how efficient or "green" black holes are, this work gives insight into how black holes generate energy and affect their environment.
The new Chandra finding shows most of the energy released by matter falling toward a supermassive black hole is in the form of high-energy jets traveling at near the speed of light away from the black hole. This is an important step in understanding how such jets can be launched from magnetized disks of gas near the black hole's event horizon, the distance from a black hole within which nothing, even light, can escape.
"Just as with cars, it's critical to know the fuel efficiency of black holes," said lead author Steve Allen of the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology at Stanford University and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Stanford, Calif. "Without this information, we cannot figure out what is going on under the hood, so to speak, or what the engine can do."
Allen and his team used Chandra to study nine supermassive black holes at the centers of elliptical galaxies. These black holes - from .2 to 3 billion times the mass of our sun - are relatively old and generate much less radiation than quasars, the rapidly growing supermassive black holes seen in the early universe.
The surprise came when the Chandra results showed these "quiet" black holes are all producing much more energy in jets of high-energy particles than in visible light or X-rays. These jets create huge bubbles, or cavities, in the hot gas in the galaxies.
The efficiency of black hole energy-production was calculated in two steps. First, Chandra images of the galaxies' inner regions were used to estimate how much fuel is available for the black hole. Then, Chandra images were used to estimate the power required to produce the cavities. The galaxies were found to produce a lot of jet power with a surprisingly small amount of fuel.
"If a car was as fuel-efficient as these black holes, it could theoretically travel over a billion miles on a gallon of gas," said co-author Christopher Reynolds of the University of Maryland, College Park.
The findings explain how black hole engines achieve this extreme efficiency. Some of the gas first attracted to the black holes may be blown away by the energetic activity before it gets too near the black hole, but a significant fraction must eventually approach the event horizon, where it is used with high efficiency to power the jets. The study also implies that matter flows towards the black holes at a steady rate for several million years.
"These black holes are very efficient, but it also takes a very long time to refuel them," Allen said.
This new study also shows the energy transferred to the hot gas by the jets should keep hot gas from cooling, thereby preventing billions of new stars from forming. This would place limits on the growth of the largest galaxies.
These results will appear in an upcoming issue of the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center, Cambridge, Mass.
For additional information and images from the research, visit:
http://chandra.nasa.gov
or
http://chandra.harvard.edu/
For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/home
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=19669
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Maverick
Lover of Earwigs!



Registered: 12/18/05
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Re: Black Holes are "Green" [Re: asd11]
#5556950 - 04/25/06 11:17 PM (18 years, 28 days ago) |
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Are black holes even black anyway? :o
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supercollider
superconducting


Registered: 10/13/00
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Loc: Waxahachie
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Re: Black Holes are "Green" [Re: asd11]
#5557324 - 04/26/06 01:26 AM (18 years, 28 days ago) |
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I was under the impression that the existence of black holes was in doubt as of late. What's the deal?
-------------------- Supercollider? I just met her!
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ivi


Registered: 01/30/03
Posts: 9,089
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Re: Black Holes are "Green" [Re: asd11]
#5559013 - 04/26/06 03:03 PM (18 years, 27 days ago) |
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"Green" as in "environmentally friendly" as they are "the most fuel efficient engines in the universe"
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Shnezbit
Psycho-naught


Registered: 09/30/04
Posts: 1,202
Loc: The Threshold.
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they definately exist. super massive black holes are at the center of galaxies. thats why the center of a galaxy appears as a giant star. its really a supermassive black hole consuming the matter pulled into it, thats why the center of a galaxy appears so bright.
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Learyfan
It's the psychedelic movement!


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Re: Black Holes are "Green" [Re: asd11]
#5575288 - 04/30/06 08:40 PM (18 years, 23 days ago) |
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Log in to view attachment
Interesting.
-------------------- -------------------------------- Mp3 of the month: Sons Of Adam - Feathered Fish
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DoctorJ


Registered: 06/30/03
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Re: Black Holes are "Green" [Re: asd11]
#5575524 - 04/30/06 09:46 PM (18 years, 23 days ago) |
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A very good friend of mine was once working on a way to create and contain black holes for the purpose of harnessing their power. But alas, he's given up the pursuit to be a musician. Ah, well, it was probably too soon anyway. Nice to know there are other people working on it though
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Sinthetic
Stranger


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Re: Black Holes are "Green" [Re: Shnezbit]
#5576737 - 05/01/06 10:20 AM (18 years, 22 days ago) |
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That's very untrue. You can't see a block hole. That's why they're called black holes. When you "see" something. Your eyes collect photons and send data about them to your brain. A black hole's gravity is so strong that photons can't escape. The only way to know that a black hole exists is the jets talked about in the article, trace amounts of radiation, and the effect it's gravity has on it's urroundings.
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Asante
Omnicyclion prophet


Registered: 02/06/02
Posts: 87,649
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Re: Black Holes are "Green" [Re: Sinthetic]
#5576772 - 05/01/06 10:36 AM (18 years, 22 days ago) |
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Black holes suck.
-------------------- Omnicyclion.org higher knowledge starts here
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Asante
Omnicyclion prophet


Registered: 02/06/02
Posts: 87,649
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Re: Black Holes are "Green" [Re: Sinthetic]
#5576777 - 05/01/06 10:39 AM (18 years, 22 days ago) |
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Quote:
That's very untrue. You can't see a block hole.
Actually you can 
Around the schwartzschild radius the gravity of the black hole bends the starlight around it, thus a black hole shines with a VERY dim light, indirectly, as a diffuse reflector of starlight.
I just realized this, but it sounds reasonable.
Quote:
super massive black holes are at the center of galaxies. thats why the center of a galaxy appears as a giant star. its really a supermassive black hole consuming the matter pulled into it, thats why the center of a galaxy appears so bright.
That's a Quasar, a phenomenon I'm in love with  At the heart of a Quasar sits a black hole of a BILLION solar masses, pulling material in, the friction of which causes intense fusion energy release. A quasar is a "small" object but it shines brighter than a hundred galaxies, and it shines far brighter than the sun at three lightyears distance, at 10.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000 watts  Now that would make one hell of a growlight
-------------------- Omnicyclion.org higher knowledge starts here
Edited by Asante (05/01/06 10:45 AM)
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Scott Bennett
Lucrative


Registered: 08/05/03
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Loc: Toronto
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Re: Black Holes are "Green" *DELETED* [Re: Asante]
#5577764 - 05/01/06 04:01 PM (18 years, 22 days ago) |
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Post deleted by ThaiLipaYaiReason for deletion: .
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It's just some nights, you really want to go out, get some hot bitch to dump Goose down your throat and snort coke off a stripper's tits.
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monamine
dork


Registered: 04/28/06
Posts: 1,089
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Re: Black Holes are "Green" [Re: Asante]
#5578382 - 05/01/06 06:38 PM (18 years, 22 days ago) |
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Ah... good 'ol physics. The original "mindfuck" I experiened long before I ever even dreamed of taking a psychedelic drug.
This stuff is really interesting and all, but does anybody here think us glorified monkies..er..humans can truly comprehend the universe using rational logic? You can show me all the equations you want, but when you get down to the quantum any kind of linear scientific thinking slams into a brick wall.
Ok, I'm gonna go shut the hell up now before I forget this is science and not a fruity philosophy class...
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monamine
dork


Registered: 04/28/06
Posts: 1,089
Loc: Florida, US
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Quote:
ThaiLipaYai said:
Quote:
Wiccan_Seeker said: Black holes suck.
It's funny because it's true.
Sucks as in vacuum cleaners or sucks as in ass?
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DoctorJ


Registered: 06/30/03
Posts: 8,846
Loc: space
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Re: Black Holes are "Green" [Re: monamine]
#5579997 - 05/02/06 12:48 AM (18 years, 22 days ago) |
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Quote:
monamine said: Ah... good 'ol physics. The original "mindfuck" I experiened long before I ever even dreamed of taking a psychedelic drug.
This stuff is really interesting and all, but does anybody here think us glorified monkies..er..humans can truly comprehend the universe using rational logic? You can show me all the equations you want, but when you get down to the quantum any kind of linear scientific thinking slams into a brick wall.
Ok, I'm gonna go shut the hell up now before I forget this is science and not a fruity philosophy class...
the universe is logical because it is ungodly.
God invented one thing: spirit
the rest came from god's underlings, or I should say contemporaries.
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Colonel Kurtz Ph.D
What What?

Registered: 07/22/04
Posts: 11,113
Loc: Shadow Moses
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Re: Black Holes are "Green" [Re: asd11]
#5593479 - 05/05/06 10:29 AM (18 years, 18 days ago) |
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What kind of green?
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There's no better way to rock out than with your cock out!!
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imachavel
I loved and lost but I loved-ftw



Registered: 06/06/07
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Re: Black Holes are "Green" [Re: asd11]
#14851988 - 07/31/11 02:41 PM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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well this is an old thread but I thought I should bump it, it gives a few explanations to questions I had in the other thread I created. these are good explanations, as according to this thread, it doesn't seem like a black hole can exist that isn't super massive in size so much so that one could theoretically suck up a large portion of our galaxy, maybe even as large as one thousandth! I wouldn't imagine the forces needed to create a black hole could be, any less than super massive
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I did not say to edit my signature soulidarity! Now forever I will never remember what I said about understanding the secrets of the universe by paying attention to subtleties!
I'm never giving you the password again. Jerk
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Visionary Tools



Registered: 06/23/07
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Re: Black Holes are "Green" [Re: asd11]
#14852439 - 07/31/11 04:40 PM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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Someone please explain to me right now how green=fuel efficent.
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DieCommie

Registered: 12/11/03
Posts: 29,258
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Quote:
Visionary Tools said: Someone please explain to me right now how green=fuel efficent.
Its the other way around, fuel efficient = green.
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debianlinux
Myconerd - DBK




Registered: 12/09/02
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Re: Black Holes are "Green" [Re: DieCommie]
#14860315 - 08/02/11 06:56 AM (12 years, 9 months ago) |
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If it is one way and not the other then it is inappropriate to be using the = sign.
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