Monday, December 9, 2024

What Would Change with a “New Physics” Breakthrough?

“New physics” is a catch-all term...

Neem seed extract improves effectiveness of pesticide

Pesticides can be made more effective...

Magnetic vortices may help feed supermassive black holes. Here’s how

AstronomyMagnetic vortices may help feed supermassive black holes. Here's how



It’s a bit of a myth that black holes pull everything in. Much of the matter that finds itself falling towards the black hole is actually spat back out, thanks to powerful magnetic fields that are able to levitate charged particles out of a black hole’s accretion disk and accelerate them away. 

For a long time, the assumption was that this material flowed radially out from the vicinity of black hole, either through a piercing jet that is collimated by magnetic fields, or material lifted up by outflows of radiation emanating from the hot disk. However, there’s always been a bit of a paradox at the heart of this theory: If the environment immediately around black holes is adept at removing material from danger, how are supermassive black holes able to feed on enough matter to grow to their gargantuan masses of millions or even billions of times the mass of our sun?

Check out our other content

Most Popular Articles