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Rips in the Fabric of Space: Black Holes

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Abstract

Black holes curve the space around them, and if you entered this space, it would seem as if you were entering a tunnel. There would be an opening at one end and an exit at the other. But is it possible to travel through these tunnels? Before we answer this question we must first examine black holes themselves, the objects that create the tunnels. What exactly are black holes? How are they formed? To understand them properly, we must begin with objects known as white dwarfs. For many years white dwarfs were the exotic objects of astronomy: tiny, bright stars, hardly bigger than Earth, yet so dense that a teaspoon of material from them weighed tons.

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© 1991 Barry Parker

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Parker, B. (1991). Rips in the Fabric of Space: Black Holes. In: Cosmic Time Travel. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-6136-5_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-6136-5_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-306-43966-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-6136-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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