Abstract.
Our understanding of space and time is probed to its depths by black holes. These objects, which appear as a natural consequence of general relativity, provide a powerful analytical tool able to examine macroscopic and microscopic properties of the universe. This introductory article presents in a pictorial way the basic concepts of black hole's theory, as well as a description of the astronomical sites where black holes are suspected to lie, namely binary X-ray sources and galactic nuclei.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
About this paper
Cite this paper
Luminet, JP. Black Holes: A General Introduction. In: Hehl, F., Kiefer, C., Metzler, R. (eds) Black Holes: Theory and Observation . Lecture Notes in Physics, vol 514. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-49535-2_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-49535-2_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-65158-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-49535-2
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive