this post was submitted on 22 May 2024
51 points (98.1% liked)

Ask Science

8750 readers
22 users here now

Ask a science question, get a science answer.


Community Rules


Rule 1: Be respectful and inclusive.Treat others with respect, and maintain a positive atmosphere.


Rule 2: No harassment, hate speech, bigotry, or trolling.Avoid any form of harassment, hate speech, bigotry, or offensive behavior.


Rule 3: Engage in constructive discussions.Contribute to meaningful and constructive discussions that enhance scientific understanding.


Rule 4: No AI-generated answers.Strictly prohibit the use of AI-generated answers. Providing answers generated by AI systems is not allowed and may result in a ban.


Rule 5: Follow guidelines and moderators' instructions.Adhere to community guidelines and comply with instructions given by moderators.


Rule 6: Use appropriate language and tone.Communicate using suitable language and maintain a professional and respectful tone.


Rule 7: Report violations.Report any violations of the community rules to the moderators for appropriate action.


Rule 8: Foster a continuous learning environment.Encourage a continuous learning environment where members can share knowledge and engage in scientific discussions.


Rule 9: Source required for answers.Provide credible sources for answers. Failure to include a source may result in the removal of the answer to ensure information reliability.


By adhering to these rules, we create a welcoming and informative environment where science-related questions receive accurate and credible answers. Thank you for your cooperation in making the Ask Science community a valuable resource for scientific knowledge.

We retain the discretion to modify the rules as we deem necessary.


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[โ€“] LowtierComputer 1 points 6 months ago (1 children)
[โ€“] FlowVoid 4 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Gravity at the event horizon is inversely related to the mass of the black hole. So for a supermassive black hole, gravity at the event horizon can be weak. But you still can't escape because it's too large.

Imagine light trying to escape the Earth's gravity. Its path is slightly deviated by the Earth, then it gets far enough away that the Earth has little further effect.

Now suppose at that distance, it still experienced the same gravity. So the trajectory of light is deviated a little more. It keeps moving farther away but gravity barely changes, even at huge distances. Eventually all those little deviations add up and it's going back where it came from. Light can't escape. It's a black hole.