| definition |
A fantastically compact object, predicted by the theory of general relativity, whose
gravity is so powerful that not even light can escape from it. A black hole forms
when matter collapses to infinite density, producing a singularity of infinite curvature
in the fabric of space-time. Each black hole is surrounded by an event horizon, at
which the escape velocity is the speed of light. The Schwarzschild radius for the
Sun is about 3 km and for the Earth about 1 cm. There is observational evidence for
black holes on a remarkable range of scales in the Universe: stellar black hole, intermediate-mass
black hole, primordial black hole, mini black hole, supermassive black hole, Schwarzschild
black hole, Kerr black hole.
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