|
|
Article: Shedding light on theories of black holes
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- December 8, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1996 Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
|
Before he died last year, the great University of Chicago
astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar asked colleagues not to
hold any memorials.
Science, Chandrasekhar believed, was more important than
scientists.
But his friends still want to remember "Chandra," so they're
organizing a conference next weekend at the U. of C. on a topic that
was dear to him - black holes.
A black hole forms around a dense heavenly body whose gravity is
so strong not even light can escape. In 1930, Chandrasekhar
suggested that if a star is massive enough it could undergo a
catastrophic gravitational collapse. Theorists later showed that
such a collapse could lead to a black hole.
Many astronomers at first ...