24: Black Holes and Curved Spacetime

Question 1

the disk of gas and dust found orbiting newborn stars, as well as compact stellar remnants such as white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes when they are in binary systems and are sufficiently close to their binary companions to draw off material

Answer 1

accretion disk

Question 2

a region in spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing—not even light—can escape

Answer 2

black hole

Question 3

concept that a gravitational force and a suitable acceleration are indistinguishable within a sufficiently local environment - free-fall and zero gravity are the same

Answer 3

equivalence principle

Question 4

a boundary in spacetime such that events inside the boundary can have no effect on the world outside it—that is, the boundary of the region around a black hole where the curvature of spacetime no longer provides any way out

Answer 4

event horizon

Question 5

Einstein’s theory relating gravity and the structure (geometry) of space and time

Answer 5

general theory of relativity

Question 6

an increase in wavelength of an electromagnetic wave (light) when propagating from or near a massive object

Answer 6

gravitational redshift

Question 7

a disturbance in the curvature of spacetime caused by changes in how matter is distributed; gravitational waves propagate at (or near) the speed of light

Answer 7

gravitational wave

Question 8

the point of zero volume and infinite density to which any object that becomes a black hole must collapse, according to the theory of general relativity

Answer 8

singularity

Question 9

system of one time and three space coordinates, with respect to which the time and place of an event can be specified

Answer 9

spacetime

Question 10

term for the way an object is stretched in the direction of a black hole

Answer 10

spaghettification