Nobel Prize in Physics 2020: Discoveries about black holes
Date:
October 6, 2020
Source:
Nobel Foundation
Summary:
This year's Nobel Prize in Physics is being awarded to Roger Penrose
'for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction
of the general theory of relativity' and jointly to Reinhard Genzel
and Andrea Ghez 'for the discovery of a supermassive compact object
at the centre of our galaxy.'
FULL STORY ========================================================================== [Abstract illustration of | Credit: (c) vchalup / stock.adobe.com]
Abstract illustration of black hole (stock image).
Credit: (c) vchalup / stock.adobe.com [Abstract illustration of | Credit:
(c) vchalup / stock.adobe.com] Abstract illustration of black hole
(stock image).
Credit: (c) vchalup / stock.adobe.com Close The Royal Swedish Academy
of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physics 2020 with
one half to Roger Penrose, University of Oxford, UK, "for the discovery
that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory
of relativity" and the other half jointly to Reinhard Genzel, Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Garching, Germany and University
of California, Berkeley, USA and Andrea Ghez, University of California,
Los Angeles, USA "for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at
the centre of our galaxy."
========================================================================== Black holes and the Milky Way's darkest secret Three Laureates share
this year's Nobel Prize in Physics for their discoveries about one of
the most exotic phenomena in the universe, the black hole. Roger Penrose
showed that the general theory of relativity leads to the formation of
black holes. Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez discovered that an invisible
and extremely heavy object governs the orbits of stars at the centre of
our galaxy.
A supermassive black hole is the only currently known explanation.
Roger Penrose used ingenious mathematical methods in his proof that
black holes are a direct consequence of Albert Einstein's general theory
of relativity.
Einstein did not himself believe that black holes really exist,
these super- heavyweight monsters that capture everything that enters
them. Nothing can escape, not even light.
In January 1965, ten years after Einstein's death, Roger Penrose proved
that black holes really can form and described them in detail; at their
heart, black holes hide a singularity in which all the known laws of
nature cease. His groundbreaking article is still regarded as the most important contribution to the general theory of relativity since Einstein.
Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez each lead a group of astronomers that,
since the early 1990s, has focused on a region called Sagittarius A* at
the centre of our galaxy. The orbits of the brightest stars closest to the middle of the Milky Way have been mapped with increasing precision. The measurements of these two groups agree, with both finding an extremely
heavy, invisible object that pulls on the jumble of stars, causing them
to rush around at dizzying speeds.
Around four million solar masses are packed together in a region no
larger than our solar system.
Using the world's largest telescopes, Genzel and Ghez developed methods to
see through the huge clouds of interstellar gas and dust to the centre
of the Milky Way. Stretching the limits of technology, they refined
new techniques to compensate for distortions caused by the Earth's
atmosphere, building unique instruments and committing themselves to
long-term research. Their pioneering work has given us the most convincing evidence yet of a supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way.
"The discoveries of this year's Laureates have broken new ground in the
study of compact and supermassive objects. But these exotic objects still
pose many questions that beg for answers and motivate future research. Not
only questions about their inner structure, but also questions about
how to test our theory of gravity under the extreme conditions in the
immediate vicinity of a black hole," says David Haviland, chair of the
Nobel Committee for Physics.
========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Nobel_Foundation. Note: Content may
be edited for style and length.
==========================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201006080924.htm
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