Prisons of light : black holes
What is a black hole? How does it 'work'? Could we survive a visit to one ... perhaps even venture inside? What would we find? Have we yet discovered any real black holes? And what do black holes teach us about the mysteries of our Universe? These are just a few of the tantalizing questions examined in this tour-de-force, jargon-free review of one of the most fascinating topics in modern science. In search of the answers, we trace a star from its birth to its death throes, take a fabulous hypothetical journey to the border of a black hole and beyond, spend time with some of the world's leading theoretical physicists and observational astronomers scanning the cosmos for evidence of real black holes, and take a whimsical look at some of the wild ideas black holes have inspired
214 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
9780521495189, 9780521625715, 0521495180, 0521625718
34409731
Prologue
A cosmic case of burnout
Matters of gravity: Newton and Einstein
The capture of light
Tripping the theoretical fantastic
Crossing the bar
Contemplating an enormous nothing
Evidence in the case
Hearts of darkness
The search goes on
Passages into the labyrinth
Black hole legends and far out ideas
Epilogue