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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:01,035 --> 00:00:07,239 ♪♪ 2 00:00:07,241 --> 00:00:12,211 Narrator: COSMOLOGISTS ARE BATTLING OVER THE UNIVERSE'S GREATEST ENIGMA. 3 00:00:14,248 --> 00:00:17,116 BLACK HOLES. 4 00:00:17,118 --> 00:00:19,051 WE'VE NEVER SEEN THEM. 5 00:00:19,053 --> 00:00:21,520 IT'S NEAR IMPOSSIBLE TO STUDY THEM. 6 00:00:21,522 --> 00:00:24,756 AND THEIR EXISTENCE CHALLENGES EVERYTHING 7 00:00:24,758 --> 00:00:27,159 WE THINK WE KNOW ABOUT SPACE. 8 00:00:29,196 --> 00:00:31,196 THE BLACK HOLE REPRESENTS THE ABSOLUTE LIMITS 9 00:00:31,198 --> 00:00:32,931 OF WHAT WE UNDERSTAND ABOUT NATURE. 10 00:00:35,268 --> 00:00:38,737 THE TRUTH IS, WE HAVE ALMOST NO IDEA WHAT THESE THINGS ARE 11 00:00:38,739 --> 00:00:41,006 AND HOW THEY WORK. 12 00:00:41,008 --> 00:00:45,276 Narrator: BLACK HOLES ARE AT THE VERY HEART OF COSMOLOGY. 13 00:00:45,278 --> 00:00:49,348 YET, SOME SCIENTISTS QUESTION IF THEY'RE EVEN REAL. 14 00:00:49,350 --> 00:00:52,350 BLACK HOLES PRESENT LOTS OF PARADOXES, 15 00:00:52,352 --> 00:00:55,487 AND THE SIMPLEST WAY TO RESOLVE THE PARADOXES WOULD BE 16 00:00:55,489 --> 00:00:59,157 IF BLACK HOLES DIDN'T EXIST AT ALL. 17 00:00:59,159 --> 00:01:01,359 Narrator: SOLVING THE MYSTERIES OF BLACK HOLES 18 00:01:01,361 --> 00:01:03,962 PUSHES OUR UNDERSTANDING OF PHYSICS 19 00:01:03,964 --> 00:01:06,498 TO THE EDGE OF REASON. 20 00:01:06,500 --> 00:01:09,567 BUT IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO DISCOVER 21 00:01:09,569 --> 00:01:12,838 IF BLACK HOLES REALLY EXIST. 22 00:01:14,308 --> 00:01:17,376 -- Captions by VITAC -- www.vitac.com 23 00:01:17,378 --> 00:01:20,279 CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS 24 00:01:28,055 --> 00:01:36,528 ♪♪ 25 00:01:36,530 --> 00:01:41,400 BLACK HOLES ARE THE MONSTERS OF THE UNIVERSE -- 26 00:01:41,402 --> 00:01:45,838 TERRIFYING COSMIC BEASTS THAT DEVOUR ALL THEY ENCOUNTER. 27 00:01:49,276 --> 00:01:53,345 BUT BLACK HOLES SCARE SCIENTISTS FOR VERY DIFFERENT REASONS. 28 00:01:55,615 --> 00:01:58,617 THEY CHALLENGE OUR THEORIES TO THE BREAKING POINT. 29 00:01:58,619 --> 00:02:01,153 THIS IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF THEORETICAL PHYSICS. 30 00:02:03,491 --> 00:02:06,892 Krauss: WHEN IT COMES TO THE DETAILED NATURE OF BLACK HOLES, 31 00:02:06,894 --> 00:02:10,362 IT WOULD NOT SURPRISE ME IF WE GOT IT ALL WRONG. 32 00:02:10,364 --> 00:02:15,100 ♪♪ 33 00:02:15,102 --> 00:02:18,637 Narrator: THE SCIENCE OF BLACK HOLES IS SO CHALLENGING 34 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:22,107 THAT SOME SCIENTISTS QUESTION WHETHER THEY EXIST AT ALL. 35 00:02:22,109 --> 00:02:26,845 ♪♪ 36 00:02:26,847 --> 00:02:30,582 DESPITE THEIR FEARSOME REPUTATION, 37 00:02:30,584 --> 00:02:32,885 WE'VE NEVER ACTUALLY SEEN ONE. 38 00:02:35,655 --> 00:02:37,923 BLACK HOLES ARE EVERYWHERE. THEY'RE ALL OVER THE UNIVERSE. 39 00:02:37,925 --> 00:02:39,591 THEY'RE ALL THROUGHOUT OUR GALAXY. 40 00:02:39,593 --> 00:02:42,327 BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEY'RE EASY TO FIND. 41 00:02:42,329 --> 00:02:44,796 Sutter: THEY'RE BLACK, AND SPACE IS BLACK, 42 00:02:44,798 --> 00:02:46,764 AND BLACK-ON-BLACK IS KIND OF HARD 43 00:02:46,766 --> 00:02:50,135 TO SEE IN A PICTURE OF SPACE. 44 00:02:50,137 --> 00:02:51,537 Narrator: THIS IS PARADOXICAL 45 00:02:51,539 --> 00:02:55,073 BECAUSE SCIENTISTS BELIEVE BLACK HOLES ARE BORN 46 00:02:55,075 --> 00:02:58,210 IN SOME OF THE BRIGHTEST EXPLOSIONS IN THE UNIVERSE... 47 00:03:01,148 --> 00:03:04,882 ...RISING FROM THE CORPSES OF DETONATED STARS 48 00:03:04,884 --> 00:03:07,085 MANY TIMES LARGER THAN OUR SUN. 49 00:03:09,356 --> 00:03:12,090 A STAR THAT BURNS FOR 10 MILLION YEARS 50 00:03:12,092 --> 00:03:16,261 COLLAPSES TO FORM A BLACK HOLE IN A PERIOD OF SECONDS. 51 00:03:18,098 --> 00:03:19,231 Narrator: AS IT COLLAPSES, 52 00:03:19,233 --> 00:03:22,233 THE OUTER REGION OF THE STAR HITS THE CORE, 53 00:03:22,235 --> 00:03:26,972 TRIGGERING A HUGE EXPLOSION -- A SUPERNOVA. 54 00:03:31,978 --> 00:03:35,814 WE SEE THE BANG, BUT NOT WHAT'S LEFT BEHIND... 55 00:03:38,452 --> 00:03:42,120 ...A DEAD CORE WITH THE ENORMOUS MASS OF THE STAR 56 00:03:42,122 --> 00:03:46,858 CRUSHED DOWN INTO AN INFINITESIMAL, TINY AREA. 57 00:03:46,860 --> 00:03:53,932 ♪♪ 58 00:03:53,934 --> 00:03:57,402 FROM THIS MINUSCULE HIGH-MASS CORE, 59 00:03:57,404 --> 00:04:00,605 A BLACK HOLE IS BORN. 60 00:04:00,607 --> 00:04:05,410 THE FLOW OF GRAVITY IS SO STRONG THAT NOTHING CAN ESCAPE -- 61 00:04:05,412 --> 00:04:06,511 NOT EVEN LIGHT. 62 00:04:10,551 --> 00:04:13,952 Narrator: BUT HOW CAN SCIENTISTS CLAIM THAT BLACK HOLES EXIST 63 00:04:13,954 --> 00:04:15,354 IF WE CAN'T EVEN SEE THEM? 64 00:04:15,356 --> 00:04:21,159 ♪♪ 65 00:04:21,161 --> 00:04:23,762 Plait: YOU COULD SAY THAT ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF THE ATOM. 66 00:04:23,764 --> 00:04:26,631 WE KNEW THEY HAD EXISTED FOR DECADES, CENTURIES 67 00:04:26,633 --> 00:04:31,770 BEFORE WE HAD ACTUALLY SEEN ONE IN SOME SORT OF IMAGING DEVICE. 68 00:04:31,772 --> 00:04:34,072 AND SO IT'S THE SAME SORT OF THING WITH BLACK HOLES. 69 00:04:35,776 --> 00:04:38,577 Stricker: JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN'T SEE IT DOESN'T MEAN IT'S NOT THERE. 70 00:04:38,579 --> 00:04:41,179 NOT SEEING BLACK HOLES BUT KNOWING THEY'RE THERE 71 00:04:41,181 --> 00:04:42,381 IS A POSSIBILITY, 72 00:04:42,383 --> 00:04:44,783 JUST LIKE WE KNOW THAT WIND IS THERE, 73 00:04:44,785 --> 00:04:46,551 EVEN THOUGH WE CAN'T SEE AIR. 74 00:04:49,390 --> 00:04:52,457 Narrator: AIR IS INVISIBLE, BUT WHEN THE WIND BLOWS, 75 00:04:52,459 --> 00:04:55,994 ITS EFFECTS CAN BE MEASURED. 76 00:04:55,996 --> 00:04:57,862 IT'S THE SAME WITH BLACK HOLES. 77 00:04:57,864 --> 00:05:00,465 YOU JUST NEED TO KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR. 78 00:05:02,336 --> 00:05:04,602 Thaller: WHILE THEY EMIT NO LIGHT THEMSELVES, 79 00:05:04,604 --> 00:05:07,139 BLACK HOLES ARE TREMENDOUS SOURCES OF X-RAYS, 80 00:05:07,141 --> 00:05:10,008 AND THAT'S BECAUSE AS THINGS GET CLOSE TO A BLACK HOLE, 81 00:05:10,010 --> 00:05:12,143 THEY'RE ACCELERATED BY THE GRAVITY, 82 00:05:12,145 --> 00:05:14,746 AND THEY CAN HEAT UP TO MILLIONS OF DEGREES. 83 00:05:14,748 --> 00:05:17,516 MILLION-DEGREE GAS GIVES YOU LOTS OF X-RAYS. 84 00:05:20,354 --> 00:05:24,355 Narrator: TO FIND AND MEASURE THESE TELLTALE X-RAYS, 85 00:05:24,357 --> 00:05:28,693 SCIENTISTS TURN TO THE NuSTAR SPACE TELESCOPE. 86 00:05:28,695 --> 00:05:30,762 [ WHIRRING ] 87 00:05:30,764 --> 00:05:34,833 IN 2017, IT SPOTS A BURST OF X-RAYS 88 00:05:34,835 --> 00:05:37,902 IN A CLUSTER CALLED 47 TUCANAE, 89 00:05:37,904 --> 00:05:39,938 AT THE EDGE OF THE MILKY WAY. 90 00:05:42,509 --> 00:05:45,110 WHEN SCIENTISTS ANALYZE THE DATA, 91 00:05:45,112 --> 00:05:48,180 THEY REALIZE THEY'RE LOOKING AT TWO OBJECTS 92 00:05:48,182 --> 00:05:50,882 ORBITING EACH OTHER VERY CLOSELY. 93 00:05:54,321 --> 00:05:57,656 ALL WE SEE IS THAT THERE'S A STAR BEING RIPPED APART, 94 00:05:57,658 --> 00:06:01,660 AND GAS IS SPIRALING DOWN TO A VERY DENSE, VERY DARK OBJECT, 95 00:06:01,662 --> 00:06:04,929 SO SOMETHING WEIRD IS GOING ON. 96 00:06:04,931 --> 00:06:07,999 AS ONE OF THE OBJECTS ACCRETES MATTER OFF THE OTHER, 97 00:06:08,001 --> 00:06:10,202 IT CAUSES IT TO EMIT X-RAYS, 98 00:06:10,204 --> 00:06:13,204 AND THOSE X-RAYS CAN BE USED, THEN, TO TRACE OUT THE ORBITS 99 00:06:13,206 --> 00:06:15,273 AND, THEREFORE, EXTRACT THE MASS. 100 00:06:18,412 --> 00:06:20,011 Narrator: WHEN SCIENTISTS WORK OUT 101 00:06:20,013 --> 00:06:22,547 THE SIZE AND MASS OF THE TWO OBJECTS, 102 00:06:22,549 --> 00:06:25,684 THEY FIND THE FIRST IS THE FADING CORPSE 103 00:06:25,686 --> 00:06:29,087 OF A SUNLIKE STAR. 104 00:06:29,089 --> 00:06:31,623 AND WHILE THE SECOND OBJECT IS TINY, 105 00:06:31,625 --> 00:06:35,427 IT HAS THE MASS OF A GIANT. 106 00:06:35,429 --> 00:06:38,630 IS THIS AN ELUSIVE BLACK HOLE? 107 00:06:40,033 --> 00:06:42,100 WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE IS AN OBJECT 108 00:06:42,102 --> 00:06:45,570 THAT IS VERY MASSIVE, VERY SMALL, VERY DENSE, 109 00:06:45,572 --> 00:06:48,039 WITH INTENSE GRAVITY. 110 00:06:48,041 --> 00:06:50,041 BUT IT TURNS OUT THERE ARE LOTS OF DIFFERENT WAYS 111 00:06:50,043 --> 00:06:52,711 TO CREATE AN OBJECT LIKE THAT. 112 00:06:52,713 --> 00:06:55,246 THERE IS ANOTHER TYPE OF ULTRA-DENSE OBJECT OUT THERE 113 00:06:55,248 --> 00:06:57,849 IN THE UNIVERSE, CALLED A NEUTRON STAR. 114 00:06:57,851 --> 00:07:01,786 ♪♪ 115 00:07:01,788 --> 00:07:06,257 Narrator: NEUTRON STARS FORM IN THE SAME WAY WE THINK BLACK HOLES FORM -- 116 00:07:06,259 --> 00:07:08,660 WHEN STARS DIE, EXPLODE, 117 00:07:08,662 --> 00:07:12,230 BUT THEN COLLAPSE DOWN INTO A TINY BALL OF MATTER. 118 00:07:14,334 --> 00:07:18,670 THE GRAVITATIONAL ATTRACTION OF A NEUTRON STAR IS ENORMOUS, 119 00:07:18,672 --> 00:07:22,206 PULLING IN GAS, DUST, AND ASTEROIDS. 120 00:07:22,208 --> 00:07:26,210 BUT LIGHT CAN STILL ESCAPE. 121 00:07:26,212 --> 00:07:29,214 Thaller: BLACK HOLES AND NEUTRON STARS ARE KIND OF COUSINS, 122 00:07:29,216 --> 00:07:31,082 BUT IN THE CASE OF A NEUTRON STAR, 123 00:07:31,084 --> 00:07:35,020 IT DIDN'T HAVE QUITE ENOUGH MASS TO COLLAPSE OUT OF CONTROL. 124 00:07:35,022 --> 00:07:38,156 SO YOU CAN SORT OF THINK OF IT AS JUST BARELY HANGING BACK 125 00:07:38,158 --> 00:07:40,091 FROM COLLAPSING INTO A BLACK HOLE. 126 00:07:40,093 --> 00:07:42,827 ♪♪ 127 00:07:42,829 --> 00:07:45,296 Narrator: THE TINY OBJECT DISCOVERED BY NuSTAR 128 00:07:45,298 --> 00:07:47,432 DOES HAVE ENORMOUS MASS. 129 00:07:49,569 --> 00:07:51,903 BUT SIZE AND MASS ALONE 130 00:07:51,905 --> 00:07:54,506 ARE NOT ENOUGH TO PROVE IT'S A BLACK HOLE. 131 00:07:56,576 --> 00:08:00,512 COSMOLOGISTS NEED MORE EVIDENCE. 132 00:08:00,514 --> 00:08:05,049 THEY CAN'T SEE BLACK HOLES, BUT IS THERE ANOTHER WAY? 133 00:08:05,051 --> 00:08:06,918 WHAT IF THEY COULD HEAR THEM? 134 00:08:09,523 --> 00:08:12,123 THINK OF TWO MASSIVE CARS COLLIDING -- BOOM! 135 00:08:12,125 --> 00:08:14,259 WHEN THEY DO, THEY RADIATE SOUND, 136 00:08:14,261 --> 00:08:16,394 AND THEN WE CAN TELL WHETHER OR NOT THAT COLLISION OCCURRED 137 00:08:16,396 --> 00:08:17,995 AND MAYBE EVEN HOW FAR AWAY IT WAS. 138 00:08:17,997 --> 00:08:20,264 IT'S LIKE THAT WHEN BLACK HOLES COLLIDE. 139 00:08:20,266 --> 00:08:25,870 ♪♪ 140 00:08:25,872 --> 00:08:29,441 Narrator: SO, BY LISTENING FOR A BLACK HOLE CRASH... 141 00:08:31,678 --> 00:08:36,081 ...COULD SCIENTISTS CONCLUSIVELY PROVE THEY EXIST? 142 00:08:36,083 --> 00:08:39,251 ♪♪ 143 00:08:50,296 --> 00:08:55,366 ♪♪ 144 00:08:55,368 --> 00:09:00,505 ♪♪ 145 00:09:00,507 --> 00:09:04,075 Narrator: BLACK HOLES ARE GRAVITATIONAL GIANTS OF THE UNIVERSE. 146 00:09:05,912 --> 00:09:09,314 BUT WE'VE FOUND ONLY CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE 147 00:09:09,316 --> 00:09:11,516 THAT THEY EXIST. 148 00:09:11,518 --> 00:09:13,318 TO MAKE IT A SLAM DUNK, 149 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:15,920 COSMOLOGISTS ARE LISTENING FOR PROOF 150 00:09:15,922 --> 00:09:19,391 IN THE HIDDEN WORLD OF GRAVITATIONAL WAVES. 151 00:09:21,461 --> 00:09:23,662 THERE ARE GRAVITATIONAL WAVES GOING THROUGH THIS ROOM 152 00:09:23,664 --> 00:09:24,863 ALL THE TIME. 153 00:09:24,865 --> 00:09:27,164 EVERY TIME I MOVE MY HANDS LIKE I JUST DID, 154 00:09:27,166 --> 00:09:29,133 I CREATE GRAVITATIONAL WAVES. 155 00:09:29,135 --> 00:09:32,671 THE PROBLEM IS, GRAVITY IS SO WEAK 156 00:09:32,673 --> 00:09:34,639 THAT YOU DON'T DETECT THOSE GRAVITATIONAL WAVES. 157 00:09:36,810 --> 00:09:39,810 IN ORDER TO DETECT THOSE DISTURBANCES OF SPACE AND TIME, 158 00:09:39,812 --> 00:09:43,014 YOU HAVE TO HAVE CATACLYSMIC EVENTS 159 00:09:43,016 --> 00:09:44,950 INVOLVING MASSIVE OBJECTS. 160 00:09:48,422 --> 00:09:52,557 Narrator: BLACK HOLES ARE SOME OF THE DENSEST OBJECTS IN THE UNIVERSE. 161 00:09:52,559 --> 00:09:56,161 SO WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO HEAR AND MEASURE THE WAVES 162 00:09:56,163 --> 00:09:59,230 CREATED WHEN THEY COLLIDE. 163 00:09:59,232 --> 00:10:04,302 LIGO, THE LASER INTERFEROMETER GRAVITATIONAL-WAVE OBSERVATORY, 164 00:10:04,304 --> 00:10:06,637 LISTENS FOR WAVES THAT CAN COME 165 00:10:06,639 --> 00:10:08,773 FROM OVER A BILLION LIGHT-YEARS AWAY. 166 00:10:08,775 --> 00:10:12,376 ♪♪ 167 00:10:12,378 --> 00:10:17,282 IN 2017, LIGO HEARD AN ENORMOUS CRASH. 168 00:10:19,853 --> 00:10:21,318 TWO VERY MASSIVE OBJECTS 169 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:23,388 COLLIDED AT NEAR THE SPEED OF LIGHT 170 00:10:23,390 --> 00:10:25,456 IN ONE OF THE MOST ENERGETIC EVENTS 171 00:10:25,458 --> 00:10:27,993 THAT WE'VE EVER WITNESSED IN THE HISTORY OF HUMANKIND. 172 00:10:31,264 --> 00:10:36,133 Narrator: TWO ULTRA-HEAVY, ULTRA-DENSE OBJECTS WHIRL AROUND EACH OTHER, 173 00:10:36,135 --> 00:10:41,139 HURLING POWERFUL GRAVITATIONAL WAVES THROUGH SPACE. 174 00:10:41,141 --> 00:10:43,340 THE CLOSER THEY FALL TOWARD EACH OTHER, 175 00:10:43,342 --> 00:10:47,545 THE MORE GRAVITATIONAL ENERGY THEY THROW OUT. 176 00:10:47,547 --> 00:10:49,613 FINALLY, THEY COLLIDE, 177 00:10:49,615 --> 00:10:53,485 IN ONE OF THE MOST VIOLENT EVENTS IN THE UNIVERSE. 178 00:10:56,289 --> 00:10:59,758 THE SMASH SENDS OUT IMMENSE GRAVITATIONAL WAVES 179 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:03,361 THAT RIPPLE ACROSS INTERGALACTIC SPACE, 180 00:11:03,363 --> 00:11:08,099 UNTIL, EVENTUALLY, LIGO DETECTS THEM. 181 00:11:08,101 --> 00:11:10,101 [ HIGH-PITCHED NOISE ] 182 00:11:10,103 --> 00:11:11,836 LISTENING TO A GRAVITATIONAL WAVE 183 00:11:11,838 --> 00:11:14,973 IS LIKE LISTENING TO A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT. 184 00:11:14,975 --> 00:11:19,577 IF IT'S MAKING CERTAIN TONES OR CERTAIN VIBRATIONS, 185 00:11:19,579 --> 00:11:22,447 YOU CAN FIGURE OUT THE SIZE OF THE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT, 186 00:11:22,449 --> 00:11:23,915 THE TYPE OF THE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT, 187 00:11:23,917 --> 00:11:26,317 WHO'S PLAYING THE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT. 188 00:11:28,789 --> 00:11:31,122 THE THING THAT'S REALLY AMAZING ABOUT THE LIGO DETECTION 189 00:11:31,124 --> 00:11:33,524 IS IT ALLOWED US TO MEASURE THE MASS OF THESE OBJECTS 190 00:11:33,526 --> 00:11:35,526 AND HOW QUICKLY THEY COALESCE TOGETHER. 191 00:11:35,528 --> 00:11:39,063 SO WE ACTUALLY HAVE AN IDEA HOW DENSE THEY MUST HAVE BEEN, 192 00:11:39,065 --> 00:11:40,765 AND WITH MODERN PHYSICS, WE SAY, 193 00:11:40,767 --> 00:11:43,134 "WELL, IT HAS TO BE A BLACK HOLE." 194 00:11:43,136 --> 00:11:45,470 BUT THE QUESTION IS, "HAVE WE MISSED SOMETHING?" 195 00:11:45,472 --> 00:11:47,572 [ PULSATING ] 196 00:11:49,543 --> 00:11:54,679 Narrator: THE INFORMATION GATHERED BY LIGO IS GROUNDBREAKING. 197 00:11:54,681 --> 00:11:57,615 BUT SOME SCIENTISTS THINK THAT THE GRAVITATIONAL WAVES 198 00:11:57,617 --> 00:12:00,818 COULD HAVE COME NOT FROM BLACK HOLES, 199 00:12:00,820 --> 00:12:03,888 BUT FROM SOMETHING EVEN MORE MYSTERIOUS. 200 00:12:07,160 --> 00:12:10,761 IT'S POSSIBLE THAT WHAT WE IDENTIFY AS BLACK HOLES 201 00:12:10,763 --> 00:12:14,632 IN OUR UNIVERSE ARE REALLY ANOTHER OBJECT LIKE GRAVASTAR. 202 00:12:14,634 --> 00:12:18,569 POSSIBLE -- THERE'S A CAPITAL "P" ON THAT "POSSIBLE." 203 00:12:18,571 --> 00:12:25,710 ♪♪ 204 00:12:25,712 --> 00:12:30,949 Narrator: A GRAVASTAR IS WHAT SCIENTISTS CALL AN EXOTIC COMPACT OBJECT. 205 00:12:32,519 --> 00:12:36,654 THIS BIZARRE THEORETICAL BODY HAS EXACTLY THE SAME MASS 206 00:12:36,656 --> 00:12:40,725 AND GRAVITATIONAL PULL AS A BLACK HOLE, 207 00:12:40,727 --> 00:12:43,661 BUT IT'S MADE OF EXOTIC MATTER. 208 00:12:43,663 --> 00:12:47,364 A GRAVASTAR WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE WITH THE NAKED EYE, 209 00:12:47,366 --> 00:12:51,202 BUT BECAUSE IT FORMS DIFFERENTLY THAN A BLACK HOLE, 210 00:12:51,204 --> 00:12:54,873 IT HAS A STRANGE, INCREDIBLY DENSE SURFACE. 211 00:12:58,278 --> 00:13:01,546 IN THE FORMATION OF WHAT WE THINK OF AS A BLACK HOLE, 212 00:13:01,548 --> 00:13:05,149 THE CATASTROPHIC GRAVITATIONAL COLLAPSE OF A DENSE OBJECT, 213 00:13:05,151 --> 00:13:07,218 MAYBE IT DOESN'T GO ALL THE WAY DOWN 214 00:13:07,220 --> 00:13:09,420 TO BECOME AN INFINITELY DENSE POINT. 215 00:13:09,422 --> 00:13:11,556 INSTEAD, MAYBE THERE'S SOME INTERACTION 216 00:13:11,558 --> 00:13:14,425 THAT PREVENTS THE FORMATION OF THE BLACK HOLE, 217 00:13:14,427 --> 00:13:18,362 AND INSTEAD, YOU HAVE A TIGHT, LITTLE, DENSE BALL, 218 00:13:18,364 --> 00:13:21,632 WHICH IS WHAT WE CALL A GRAVASTAR. 219 00:13:21,634 --> 00:13:25,369 SO THE LIGO DATA COULD BE THE SIGNATURE 220 00:13:25,371 --> 00:13:27,639 OF TWO BLACK HOLES COLLIDING, BUT IT ALSO COULD BE 221 00:13:27,641 --> 00:13:31,309 THE SIGNATURE OF TWO GRAVASTARS COLLIDING. 222 00:13:31,311 --> 00:13:33,878 RIGHT NOW, WE CAN'T TELL THEM APART. 223 00:13:36,716 --> 00:13:43,988 ♪♪ 224 00:13:43,990 --> 00:13:48,192 Narrator: SO, FOR NOW, GRAVITATIONAL WAVES HAVE LED TO A DEAD END 225 00:13:48,194 --> 00:13:51,062 IN THE HUNT FOR BLACK HOLES. 226 00:13:51,064 --> 00:13:54,599 WE CAN'T BE COMPLETELY SURE THAT WE'RE HEARING THEM, 227 00:13:54,601 --> 00:13:57,502 AND WE ALREADY KNOW WE CAN'T SEE THEM. 228 00:13:59,205 --> 00:14:02,073 BUT WHAT ABOUT THE MAYHEM THEY LEAVE BEHIND? 229 00:14:05,478 --> 00:14:08,346 EVEN THOUGH YOU CAN'T SEE THE BLACK HOLE ITSELF, 230 00:14:08,348 --> 00:14:11,349 IT'S GOING TO LEAVE BEHIND A TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION, 231 00:14:11,351 --> 00:14:13,417 AND THAT IS SOMETHING YOU CAN SEE. 232 00:14:13,419 --> 00:14:18,289 ♪♪ 233 00:14:18,291 --> 00:14:21,559 Narrator: BY PICKING APART A COSMIC CRIME SCENE, 234 00:14:21,561 --> 00:14:26,897 CAN SCIENTISTS FINALLY SOLVE THE MYSTERY OF BLACK HOLES? 235 00:14:26,899 --> 00:14:29,267 ♪♪ 236 00:14:40,247 --> 00:14:48,052 ♪♪ 237 00:14:48,054 --> 00:14:55,726 ♪♪ 238 00:14:55,728 --> 00:14:59,664 Narrator: THIS IS THE HYDRA "A" GALAXY CLUSTER. 239 00:14:59,666 --> 00:15:04,068 840 MILLION LIGHT-YEARS FROM EARTH, 240 00:15:04,070 --> 00:15:08,806 IT'S A REGION OF SPACE FILLED WITH GALAXIES 241 00:15:08,808 --> 00:15:13,277 AND DENSE INTERGALACTIC GAS. 242 00:15:13,279 --> 00:15:16,414 BUT A DARK AND MASSIVELY DESTRUCTIVE FORCE 243 00:15:16,416 --> 00:15:18,682 IS AT WORK HERE. 244 00:15:18,684 --> 00:15:21,085 AND IT'S BLASTING HOLES IN THE GAS 245 00:15:21,087 --> 00:15:24,688 THAT ARE BIGGER THAN THE MILKY WAY. 246 00:15:24,690 --> 00:15:28,692 COULD A BLACK HOLE BE RESPONSIBLE? 247 00:15:28,694 --> 00:15:31,696 IT'S ALMOST AS IF AN INTERGALACTIC BOMB HAS EXPLODED 248 00:15:31,698 --> 00:15:34,766 TO BLOW THESE CAVITIES OUT. 249 00:15:34,768 --> 00:15:36,901 Sutter: SOME OF THESE CAVITIES ARE TENS 250 00:15:36,903 --> 00:15:39,637 OR EVEN HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF LIGHT-YEARS ACROSS, 251 00:15:39,639 --> 00:15:41,638 AND TO CREATE A CAVITY THAT LARGE 252 00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:44,842 REQUIRES AN IMMENSE SOURCE OF ENERGY, 253 00:15:44,844 --> 00:15:47,644 A POWERFUL ENGINE THAT'S DRIVING IT. 254 00:15:47,646 --> 00:15:52,983 ♪♪ 255 00:15:52,985 --> 00:15:55,386 Narrator: TO DISCOVER WHAT'S CREATING THE CAVITIES, 256 00:15:55,388 --> 00:15:59,424 SCIENTISTS COMBINE IMAGES TAKEN AT DIFFERENT WAVELENGTHS. 257 00:16:01,928 --> 00:16:04,996 THEY REVEAL SOMETHING REMARKABLE. 258 00:16:07,666 --> 00:16:12,069 THE CAVITIES ARE BEING CARVED OUT BY ENORMOUS JETS 259 00:16:12,071 --> 00:16:16,007 EMANATING FROM A GALAXY IN THE CENTER OF THE CLUSTER. 260 00:16:16,009 --> 00:16:20,745 ♪♪ 261 00:16:20,747 --> 00:16:24,549 Sutter: AS THE JETS ARE EJECTED FROM THE GALAXY, 262 00:16:24,551 --> 00:16:28,552 THEY CAN ACTUALLY SLAM INTO THE SURROUNDING MATERIAL 263 00:16:28,554 --> 00:16:31,889 AND FORM A SHOCK WAVE, WHICH WE CAN SEE. 264 00:16:31,891 --> 00:16:35,893 AND EVENTUALLY, THAT JET INFLATES A BUBBLE, A CAVITY, 265 00:16:35,895 --> 00:16:38,429 AND THE CAVITY GROWS AS IT'S INFLATED 266 00:16:38,431 --> 00:16:42,233 WITH HOT, DENSE PLASMA EJECTED FROM THIS JET. 267 00:16:45,371 --> 00:16:48,573 Bullock: THESE JETS ARE INCREDIBLY LARGE AND INCREDIBLY POWERFUL. 268 00:16:48,575 --> 00:16:50,908 THIS IS LIKE A DEATH STAR, BUT FOR REAL. 269 00:16:50,910 --> 00:16:52,377 IT'S MUCH, MUCH MORE ENERGY 270 00:16:52,379 --> 00:16:54,778 THAN IT WOULD TAKE TO BLOW UP A PLANET. 271 00:16:54,780 --> 00:16:56,780 CARNAGE LIKE THIS COULD HAVE BEEN CREATED 272 00:16:56,782 --> 00:16:59,316 BY THE ENERGETICS OF A SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE 273 00:16:59,318 --> 00:17:00,985 IN THE FORM OF A QUASAR. 274 00:17:02,989 --> 00:17:04,856 Narrator: SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES 275 00:17:04,858 --> 00:17:09,127 ARE MILLIONS OR EVEN BILLIONS OF TIMES THE MASS OF THE SUN. 276 00:17:11,798 --> 00:17:14,231 THEY CAN BE VORACIOUS OVEREATERS, 277 00:17:14,233 --> 00:17:16,801 CRAMMING IN HUGE AMOUNTS OF MATTER. 278 00:17:20,340 --> 00:17:24,475 AS GAS AND DUST SWIRL TOWARD THE SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE, 279 00:17:24,477 --> 00:17:27,011 IT RUBS TOGETHER, CAUSING FRICTION 280 00:17:27,013 --> 00:17:30,614 THAT HEATS THE MATERIAL UP TO MILLIONS OF DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. 281 00:17:30,616 --> 00:17:38,222 ♪♪ 282 00:17:38,224 --> 00:17:40,224 THE MAGNETIC FIELD AROUND THE BLACK HOLE 283 00:17:40,226 --> 00:17:43,027 FORMS THE MATERIAL INTO TWIN JETS 284 00:17:43,029 --> 00:17:45,496 THAT SPIN OUT AT ENORMOUS SPEEDS 285 00:17:45,498 --> 00:17:48,299 FOR HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF LIGHT-YEARS. 286 00:17:48,301 --> 00:17:53,304 ♪♪ 287 00:17:53,306 --> 00:17:55,506 A QUASAR IS BORN. 288 00:17:55,508 --> 00:17:59,110 ♪♪ 289 00:17:59,112 --> 00:18:01,846 THE JETS EMITTED BY BLACK HOLES ARE NOT ONLY 290 00:18:01,848 --> 00:18:05,049 INCREDIBLY HIGH-ENERGY, BUT INCREDIBLY INTENSE. 291 00:18:05,051 --> 00:18:08,920 MORE ENERGY THAN IS EMITTED IN ALMOST ANY OTHER OBJECT 292 00:18:08,922 --> 00:18:10,455 IS OBSERVED FROM QUASARS. 293 00:18:10,457 --> 00:18:12,657 THOSE QUASARS ARE INTENSE ENOUGH 294 00:18:12,659 --> 00:18:14,925 TO VAPORIZE OBJECTS THAT THEY HIT. 295 00:18:14,927 --> 00:18:16,461 THEY'RE DEADLY RAYS FROM SPACE. 296 00:18:16,463 --> 00:18:18,496 THEY ALMOST SOUND LIKE SCIENCE-FICTION OBJECTS. 297 00:18:22,401 --> 00:18:24,802 Sutter: IN ORDER TO GENERATE THAT MUCH ENERGY, 298 00:18:24,804 --> 00:18:27,872 WHAT KIND OF PHYSICAL PROCESS DO YOU NEED? 299 00:18:27,874 --> 00:18:31,442 AND PRETTY MUCH THE ONLY ANSWER WE HAVE IS A GIANT BLACK HOLE. 300 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:35,746 Tremblay: JETS ARE ABSOLUTELY 301 00:18:35,748 --> 00:18:38,315 REALLY, REALLY CONVINCING SMOKING-GUN EVIDENCE 302 00:18:38,317 --> 00:18:40,351 FOR THE EXISTENCE OF BLACK HOLES. 303 00:18:44,290 --> 00:18:46,357 Narrator: THE AWESOME POWER OF A BLACK HOLE 304 00:18:46,359 --> 00:18:49,760 CAN EXPLAIN THE VAST MYSTERIOUS CAVITIES 305 00:18:49,762 --> 00:18:52,396 IN THE GALAXY CLUSTER HYDRA "A." 306 00:18:55,568 --> 00:18:58,769 SO, IS THE CASE CLOSED? 307 00:18:58,771 --> 00:19:02,239 CAN WE SAY CONCLUSIVELY THAT BLACK HOLES ARE REAL? 308 00:19:02,241 --> 00:19:08,378 ♪♪ 309 00:19:08,380 --> 00:19:10,381 ALTHOUGH THERE'S GREAT EVIDENCE FOR BLACK HOLES, 310 00:19:10,383 --> 00:19:13,184 WE HAVE TO KEEP QUESTIONING WHETHER THEY ARE REAL. 311 00:19:13,186 --> 00:19:16,587 AS A SCIENTIST, I'D MUCH RATHER HAVE QUESTIONS I CAN'T ANSWER 312 00:19:16,589 --> 00:19:18,389 THAN ANSWERS I CAN'T QUESTION. 313 00:19:18,391 --> 00:19:28,399 ♪♪ 314 00:19:28,401 --> 00:19:30,801 ♪♪ 315 00:19:30,803 --> 00:19:35,673 Narrator: ONE QUESTION SCIENTISTS ARE STRUGGLING TO ANSWER 316 00:19:35,675 --> 00:19:39,476 IS HOW BLACK HOLES WORK. 317 00:19:39,478 --> 00:19:45,283 ARE COSMOLOGY'S GREATEST MINDS IN DANGER OF FLUNKING OUT? 318 00:19:45,285 --> 00:19:46,617 THERE'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE DETAILS 319 00:19:46,619 --> 00:19:48,419 THAT WE STILL HAVE YET TO FIGURE OUT. 320 00:19:48,421 --> 00:19:49,887 THAT'S TRUE FOR BLACK HOLES RIGHT NOW 321 00:19:49,889 --> 00:19:51,555 AND A LOT OF THE PROBLEMS ARE BIG ONES, 322 00:19:51,557 --> 00:19:54,258 LIKE HOW DO THEY EVEN EXIST, HOW DO THEY BEHAVE? 323 00:19:55,895 --> 00:19:59,430 I MEAN, WE'RE SEEING THAT THE MATH DOESN'T SEEM TO WORK OUT, 324 00:19:59,432 --> 00:20:02,633 SO THERE IS AN ISSUE HERE. 325 00:20:02,635 --> 00:20:04,701 Narrator: TO SHOW THAT BLACK HOLES EXIST, 326 00:20:04,703 --> 00:20:08,372 SCIENTISTS NEED TO SOLVE THE MATH. 327 00:20:08,374 --> 00:20:09,640 IF THEY CAN'T, 328 00:20:09,642 --> 00:20:13,945 THEY MIGHT FAIL TO PROVE THAT BLACK HOLES EXIST AT ALL. 329 00:20:28,928 --> 00:20:33,798 ♪♪ 330 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:38,201 Narrator: COSMOLOGISTS SAY THE UNIVERSE IS FILLED WITH BLACK HOLES -- 331 00:20:38,203 --> 00:20:39,537 BIG AND SMALL. 332 00:20:41,741 --> 00:20:44,976 BUT THE EVIDENCE FOR THEM IS NOT CONCLUSIVE. 333 00:20:48,547 --> 00:20:51,148 EVEN IF THERE'S 9 OUT OF 10 PIECES OF EVIDENCE 334 00:20:51,150 --> 00:20:54,952 FOR BLACK HOLES, THERE'S STILL ONE PIECE OF EVIDENCE LEFT. 335 00:20:54,954 --> 00:20:56,954 THAT CAN OPEN IT UP TO THE POSSIBILITY 336 00:20:56,956 --> 00:20:59,356 THAT MAYBE BLACK HOLES DON'T EXIST. 337 00:20:59,358 --> 00:21:03,627 ♪♪ 338 00:21:03,629 --> 00:21:07,030 Narrator: EXPERTS INSTEAD LOOK TO THE THEORETICAL SCIENCE 339 00:21:07,032 --> 00:21:08,866 OF HOW BLACK HOLES WORK. 340 00:21:11,637 --> 00:21:14,772 THEY'RE THOUGHT TO HAVE THE SUPERDENSE COLLAPSED CORE 341 00:21:14,774 --> 00:21:16,741 OF A STAR AT THEIR CENTER. 342 00:21:18,778 --> 00:21:23,914 AROUND THIS IS A SPHERE KNOWN AS THE EVENT HORIZON, 343 00:21:23,916 --> 00:21:27,218 A PLACE WHERE THE RULES OF PHYSICS GO OUT THE WINDOW. 344 00:21:29,988 --> 00:21:31,856 Bullock: THE EVENT HORIZON, IN MANY WAYS, 345 00:21:31,858 --> 00:21:34,658 CUTS A BLACK HOLE OFF FROM THE REST OF THE UNIVERSE. 346 00:21:34,660 --> 00:21:38,396 WHATEVER COMES IN CAN NEVER COME BACK OUT. 347 00:21:38,398 --> 00:21:42,399 Sutter: IT'S ALMOST LIKE AN INVISIBLE LINE IN SPACE. 348 00:21:42,401 --> 00:21:45,403 IT'S NOT UNTIL YOU TRY TO TURN AROUND AND LEAVE 349 00:21:45,405 --> 00:21:48,306 THAT YOU REALIZE YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO ESCAPE. 350 00:21:52,878 --> 00:21:55,345 Narrator: IT'S EINSTEIN'S THEORY OF GENERAL RELATIVITY 351 00:21:55,347 --> 00:21:58,783 THAT TELLS US NOTHING CAN LEAVE A BLACK HOLE. 352 00:22:01,353 --> 00:22:02,620 THIS SET OF RULES 353 00:22:02,622 --> 00:22:05,355 GOVERNS THE GIANT STRUCTURES OF THE UNIVERSE -- 354 00:22:05,357 --> 00:22:08,859 GALAXIES, STAR SYSTEMS, AND PLANETS. 355 00:22:12,030 --> 00:22:14,564 GENERAL RELATIVITY IS EINSTEIN'S THEORY OF GRAVITY. 356 00:22:14,566 --> 00:22:16,434 IT IS THE ALL-ENCOMPASSING THEORY 357 00:22:16,436 --> 00:22:19,369 THAT DESCRIBES EVERYTHING WE KNOW ABOUT GRAVITY 358 00:22:19,371 --> 00:22:22,106 AND HOW THE UNIVERSE ON LARGE SCALES FUNCTIONS. 359 00:22:24,977 --> 00:22:28,479 Narrator: BUT THE UNIVERSE FUNCTIONS ON SMALL SCALES, TOO. 360 00:22:30,917 --> 00:22:33,984 EVERYTHING IN THE UNIVERSE -- INCLUDING US -- 361 00:22:33,986 --> 00:22:37,855 IS MADE UP OF TINY BITS OF MATTER. 362 00:22:37,857 --> 00:22:41,258 THESE ARE GOVERNED BY ANOTHER SET OF RULES, 363 00:22:41,260 --> 00:22:43,594 KNOWN AS QUANTUM MECHANICS. 364 00:22:46,466 --> 00:22:49,199 QUANTUM MECHANICS ALLOWS YOU TO UNDERSTAND 365 00:22:49,201 --> 00:22:50,735 AT THE SMALLEST LEVELS 366 00:22:50,737 --> 00:22:54,604 THE SMALLEST SCALES OF WHAT BUILDS OUR UNIVERSE. 367 00:22:54,606 --> 00:22:57,007 Bullock: WEIRD STUFF HAPPENS IN THE QUANTUM WORLD. 368 00:22:57,009 --> 00:22:58,809 IT DEFIES ALL INTUITION, 369 00:22:58,811 --> 00:23:01,479 AND ONE OF THE WEIRD THINGS THAT CAN HAPPEN IS YOU CAN HAVE 370 00:23:01,481 --> 00:23:05,182 THE EMPTY SPACE OF A VACUUM CREATING PARTICLES. 371 00:23:08,020 --> 00:23:09,486 Narrator: IN THE QUANTUM WORLD, 372 00:23:09,488 --> 00:23:15,292 TINY PARTICLES CAN POP SPONTANEOUSLY INTO EXISTENCE. 373 00:23:15,294 --> 00:23:19,963 THEY'RE DRAWN TO EACH OTHER LIKE MAGNETS. 374 00:23:19,965 --> 00:23:23,334 BUT WHEN THEY COLLIDE, THEY ANNIHILATE EACH OTHER. 375 00:23:26,239 --> 00:23:28,905 SO, YOU'VE GOT TWO PARTICLES -- THEY CAN POP OUT OF THE VACUUM, 376 00:23:28,907 --> 00:23:30,441 AND THEY ANNIHILATE VERY QUICKLY. 377 00:23:30,443 --> 00:23:32,576 THAT DOESN'T BREAK ANY LAWS. 378 00:23:32,578 --> 00:23:34,578 NOW IN THE VICINITY OF A BLACK HOLE, THOUGH, 379 00:23:34,580 --> 00:23:36,414 THINGS GET KIND OF COMPLICATED. 380 00:23:39,852 --> 00:23:41,785 Narrator: GRAVITY IS USUALLY TOO WEAK 381 00:23:41,787 --> 00:23:44,588 TO AFFECT THE PARTICLES IN THE QUANTUM WORLD. 382 00:23:48,528 --> 00:23:52,797 BUT BRITISH PHYSICIST STEPHEN HAWKING THEORIZED 383 00:23:52,799 --> 00:23:55,466 THAT AT THE EVENT HORIZON OF A BLACK HOLE, 384 00:23:55,468 --> 00:23:59,670 THE NORMAL RULES DON'T APPLY. 385 00:23:59,672 --> 00:24:01,605 WHAT STEPHEN HAWKING REALIZED IS THAT 386 00:24:01,607 --> 00:24:03,674 IF YOU HAVE A PAIR OF PARTICLES 387 00:24:03,676 --> 00:24:05,876 THAT POP UP AT THE EDGE OF A BLACK HOLE 388 00:24:05,878 --> 00:24:08,278 AND ONE GETS SUCKED INTO THE BLACK HOLE, 389 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:09,746 THEN THE OTHER IS FORCED TO BECOME 390 00:24:09,748 --> 00:24:11,615 A REAL PARTICLE IN OUR UNIVERSE. 391 00:24:11,617 --> 00:24:14,818 IN ORDER TO DO SO, IT TAKES ENERGY FROM THE BLACK HOLE, 392 00:24:14,820 --> 00:24:16,353 AND IN THAT MECHANISM, 393 00:24:16,355 --> 00:24:21,425 BLACK HOLES VERY SLOWLY OVER TIME LOSE MASS. 394 00:24:21,427 --> 00:24:22,827 Freese: WITH HAWKING'S WORK, WE SEE 395 00:24:22,829 --> 00:24:25,562 THAT THE BLACK HOLE WILL EVENTUALLY EVAPORATE, 396 00:24:25,564 --> 00:24:28,933 AND THAT WAS A COMPLETE SHIFT IN HOW TO THINK ABOUT BLACK HOLES. 397 00:24:32,171 --> 00:24:33,837 Narrator: ACCORDING TO HAWKING, 398 00:24:33,839 --> 00:24:36,706 WHEN BLACK HOLES AREN'T EATING MATERIAL, 399 00:24:36,708 --> 00:24:42,779 THEY ACTUALLY SHRINK BY EMITTING THERMAL RADIATION OR HEAT. 400 00:24:42,781 --> 00:24:44,114 IN THIS PROCESS, 401 00:24:44,116 --> 00:24:48,585 A BLACK HOLE WILL EVENTUALLY EVAPORATE COMPLETELY, 402 00:24:48,587 --> 00:24:52,323 AND THIS CREATES A PROBLEM FOR SCIENTISTS. 403 00:24:52,325 --> 00:24:53,857 EVERYTHING IN THE UNIVERSE, 404 00:24:53,859 --> 00:24:56,794 FROM ATOMS TO PLANETS TO SPACECRAFTS, 405 00:24:56,796 --> 00:25:00,064 CARRY INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE MADE OF, 406 00:25:00,066 --> 00:25:04,868 HOW FAST THEY'RE GOING, AND WHERE THEY'VE BEEN. 407 00:25:04,870 --> 00:25:06,403 THE LAWS OF PHYSICS STATE 408 00:25:06,405 --> 00:25:10,274 THAT THIS INFORMATION CAN'T BE LOST FROM THE UNIVERSE, 409 00:25:10,276 --> 00:25:12,877 AND THAT SHOULD APPLY TO BLACK HOLES. 410 00:25:15,214 --> 00:25:17,147 SO IF AN OBJECT PASSES THROUGH 411 00:25:17,149 --> 00:25:19,883 THE EVENT HORIZON OF A BLACK HOLE, 412 00:25:19,885 --> 00:25:22,485 ALL THE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT OBJECT 413 00:25:22,487 --> 00:25:25,523 BECOMES PART OF THE BLACK HOLE ITSELF. 414 00:25:28,493 --> 00:25:32,429 Krauss: ONCE THEY'VE FALLEN IN, ALL YOU CAN SEE IS A HEAVIER BLACK HOLE, 415 00:25:32,431 --> 00:25:35,365 AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT FELL IN IF YOU WEREN'T WATCHING IT. 416 00:25:35,367 --> 00:25:37,901 WELL, THAT DOESN'T VIOLATE THE LAWS OF PHYSICS, 417 00:25:37,903 --> 00:25:39,970 BUT IF THE BLACK HOLE CONTINUES TO EVAPORATE, 418 00:25:39,972 --> 00:25:42,306 EVAPORATE, EVAPORATE WITH THERMAL RADIATION 419 00:25:42,308 --> 00:25:43,707 AND THEN DISAPPEAR, 420 00:25:43,709 --> 00:25:46,109 THEN ALL YOU HAVE AFTERWARDS IS THERMAL RADIATION. 421 00:25:46,111 --> 00:25:48,879 YOU HAVE NO INFORMATION, EVEN IN PRINCIPLE, 422 00:25:48,881 --> 00:25:50,780 ABOUT WHAT FELL IN. 423 00:25:50,782 --> 00:25:53,250 AND THAT INFORMATION IS PRECISELY 424 00:25:53,252 --> 00:25:57,187 WHAT QUANTUM MECHANICS SAYS CAN'T BE LOST. 425 00:25:57,189 --> 00:26:00,190 Narrator: THE THERMAL RADIATION COMING OUT OF THE BLACK HOLE 426 00:26:00,192 --> 00:26:02,259 CONTAINS NO INFORMATION. 427 00:26:02,261 --> 00:26:04,394 IT'S A BLANK SLATE. 428 00:26:04,396 --> 00:26:07,998 IF THIS CONTINUES UNTIL THE BLACK HOLE EVAPORATES, 429 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:11,468 THEN ALL THE INFORMATION IS COMPLETELY LOST 430 00:26:11,470 --> 00:26:14,270 WHEN THE BLACK HOLE DISAPPEARS. 431 00:26:14,272 --> 00:26:17,541 IF THAT INFORMATION DISAPPEARS, 432 00:26:17,543 --> 00:26:21,478 THEN THE LAWS OF QUANTUM MECHANICS ARE VIOLATED. 433 00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:25,449 AND WE DON'T KNOW HOW TO SOLVE THAT PARADOX YET. 434 00:26:27,085 --> 00:26:30,420 WE'RE TRYING TO COMBINE QUANTUM MECHANICS AND RELATIVITY, 435 00:26:30,422 --> 00:26:33,490 AND THE FIRST TIME WE'RE ABLE TO DO IT 436 00:26:33,492 --> 00:26:36,627 LEADS TO THIS GIANT MESS THAT CALLS INTO QUESTION 437 00:26:36,629 --> 00:26:39,763 FUNDAMENTAL ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT THE WAY THE UNIVERSE WORKS, 438 00:26:39,765 --> 00:26:42,933 SO...THAT'S KIND OF A PROBLEM. 439 00:26:44,436 --> 00:26:48,105 Narrator: THE PROBLEM IS KNOWN AS THE INFORMATION PARADOX, 440 00:26:48,107 --> 00:26:52,175 AND IF SCIENTISTS ARE GOING TO FIND AN ANSWER TO IT, 441 00:26:52,177 --> 00:26:55,112 THEY'LL HAVE TO UNIFY THEIR TWO THEORIES -- 442 00:26:55,114 --> 00:26:58,314 GENERAL RELATIVITY, THE RULES OF THE LARGE, 443 00:26:58,316 --> 00:27:03,253 AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, THE RULES OF THE TINY. 444 00:27:03,255 --> 00:27:08,191 AND SO FAR, THAT'S PROVED IMPOSSIBLE. 445 00:27:08,193 --> 00:27:11,995 Tegmark: I THINK THE SINGLE BIGGEST EMBARRASSMENT IN PHYSICS 446 00:27:11,997 --> 00:27:14,398 IS THAT WE HAVE THESE TWO THEORIES -- 447 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:16,800 GENERAL RELATIVITY DESCRIBING THE BIG 448 00:27:16,802 --> 00:27:19,670 AND QUANTUM MECHANICS DESCRIBING THE SMALL -- 449 00:27:19,672 --> 00:27:22,072 THAT SIMPLY DON'T GET ALONG. 450 00:27:22,074 --> 00:27:24,675 NATURE OBVIOUSLY KNOWS WHAT IT'S DOING, 451 00:27:24,677 --> 00:27:29,747 BUT WE JUST DON'T HAVE A SINGLE, UNIFIED EXPLANATION. 452 00:27:29,749 --> 00:27:31,215 Sutter: THE PAST FEW DECADES, 453 00:27:31,217 --> 00:27:35,819 AS WE'VE TRIED TO DESCRIBE BLACK HOLES FULLY, 454 00:27:35,821 --> 00:27:38,221 THE MORE WORK WE'VE DONE, 455 00:27:38,223 --> 00:27:41,424 THE MORE OF A TANGLED MESS WE GET. 456 00:27:41,426 --> 00:27:44,027 IT WILL TAKE AT LEAST ONE BRILLIANT MIND 457 00:27:44,029 --> 00:27:45,495 TO FIGURE THIS OUT. 458 00:27:45,497 --> 00:27:48,031 ♪♪ 459 00:27:48,033 --> 00:27:50,567 Narrator: MAYBE SOMEONE ALREADY HAS. 460 00:27:50,569 --> 00:27:54,838 THE CLASSICAL BLACK HOLE HAS A SHELL-LIKE EVENT HORIZON 461 00:27:54,840 --> 00:27:57,507 BEYOND WHICH NOTHING CAN ESCAPE. 462 00:27:57,509 --> 00:28:00,110 AND ACCORDING TO THE INFORMATION PARADOX, 463 00:28:00,112 --> 00:28:06,049 INFORMATION IS LOST WHEN A BLACK HOLE EVAPORATES. 464 00:28:06,051 --> 00:28:09,787 BUT HERE'S A RADICAL, MIND-BENDING IDEA -- 465 00:28:09,789 --> 00:28:14,525 WHAT IF BLACK HOLES HAVE HAIR? 466 00:28:14,527 --> 00:28:17,728 Thaller: WHAT HAWKING AND HIS COLLABORATORS POINTED OUT 467 00:28:17,730 --> 00:28:20,998 IS THAT BLACK HOLES CAN HAVE SOFT HAIR, 468 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:22,866 AND IF THAT'S TRUE, THAT WOULD BE A WAY 469 00:28:22,868 --> 00:28:24,934 OF ENCAPSULATING ALL THE INFORMATION 470 00:28:24,936 --> 00:28:27,938 THAT WENT INTO THE BLACK HOLE. 471 00:28:27,940 --> 00:28:31,942 Narrator: SCIENTISTS PROPOSE THAT THESE SO-CALLED HAIRS 472 00:28:31,944 --> 00:28:34,010 SOMEHOW STORE THE INFORMATION 473 00:28:34,012 --> 00:28:38,282 OF WHATEVER HAS FALLEN INTO THE BLACK HOLE. 474 00:28:38,284 --> 00:28:40,417 THE INFORMATION IS THEN IMPRINTED 475 00:28:40,419 --> 00:28:45,389 ON THE THERMAL RADIATION EMITTED AS THE BLACK HOLE EVAPORATES. 476 00:28:47,626 --> 00:28:53,030 THESE HAIRY BLACK HOLES COULD SOLVE THE INFORMATION PARADOX, 477 00:28:53,032 --> 00:28:57,768 BUT THEY'RE ENTIRELY THEORETICAL. 478 00:28:57,770 --> 00:28:59,169 THESE ARE REALLY NEW IDEAS, 479 00:28:59,171 --> 00:29:01,705 AND PEOPLE ARE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE THEM OUT. 480 00:29:01,707 --> 00:29:03,907 SO IT'S HARD TO GIVE A REALLY GOOD EXPLANATION 481 00:29:03,909 --> 00:29:05,508 OF SOMETHING THAT IS -- 482 00:29:05,510 --> 00:29:07,377 THIS IS THEORY IN THE MAKING. 483 00:29:07,379 --> 00:29:09,413 PEOPLE ARE WORKING THIS OUT NOW. 484 00:29:13,252 --> 00:29:15,519 Narrator: SOLVING THE INFORMATION PARADOX 485 00:29:15,521 --> 00:29:19,122 IS PUSHING SCIENCE TO ITS LIMITS. 486 00:29:19,124 --> 00:29:20,990 BUT AN EVEN BIGGER PROBLEM 487 00:29:20,992 --> 00:29:24,261 IS SITTING AT THE HEART OF A BLACK HOLE. 488 00:29:26,331 --> 00:29:29,065 THE BIG PROBLEM ABOUT THE IDEA OF BLACK HOLES 489 00:29:29,067 --> 00:29:32,402 IS THAT AT ITS CENTER, THERE'S WHAT WE CALL A SINGULARITY. 490 00:29:32,404 --> 00:29:36,072 AT THIS SINGULARITY, MATTER HAS INFINITE DENSITY 491 00:29:36,074 --> 00:29:37,908 AND SPACE IS INFINITELY CURVED. 492 00:29:39,745 --> 00:29:44,281 THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT REALLY SOUNDS LIKE PHYSICS. 493 00:29:46,351 --> 00:29:49,352 Sutter: SINGULARITIES DO NOT EXIST IN NATURE, 494 00:29:49,354 --> 00:29:52,890 AND WHEN THEY APPEAR IN THE MATHEMATICS, 495 00:29:52,892 --> 00:29:55,291 THAT'S A SIGNAL THAT YOU'RE DOING SOMETHING WRONG, 496 00:29:55,293 --> 00:29:57,160 THAT YOU'RE INCOMPLETE. 497 00:29:57,162 --> 00:29:59,696 IT'S LIKE THE ULTIMATE CURSE WORD, 498 00:29:59,698 --> 00:30:03,700 AND MOTHER NATURE DOESN'T LIKE IT WHEN WE CURSE. 499 00:30:03,702 --> 00:30:08,772 Narrator: TO COMPLETE THE MATH AND UNDERSTAND BLACK HOLES, 500 00:30:08,774 --> 00:30:10,107 COSMOLOGISTS GRAPPLE 501 00:30:10,109 --> 00:30:14,177 WITH ONE OF SCIENCE'S MOST MIND-BENDING CONCEPTS -- 502 00:30:14,179 --> 00:30:15,813 INFINITY. 503 00:30:29,128 --> 00:30:38,936 ♪♪ 504 00:30:38,938 --> 00:30:41,671 Narrator: BLACK HOLES -- THEY'RE THOUGHT TO BE 505 00:30:41,673 --> 00:30:45,209 A FUNDAMENTAL PART OF THE UNIVERSE. 506 00:30:45,211 --> 00:30:47,344 BUT SCIENTISTS ARE NOT ONLY STRUGGLING 507 00:30:47,346 --> 00:30:49,479 TO EXPLAIN HOW THEY WORK, 508 00:30:49,481 --> 00:30:53,050 THEY'RE STRUGGLING TO PROVE THEY EVEN EXIST. 509 00:30:55,287 --> 00:30:58,288 Sutter: SO, BLACK HOLES HAVE SOME PROBLEMS. 510 00:30:58,290 --> 00:31:00,958 EVERY TIME WE TRY TO THINK OF SOMETHING, 511 00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:03,827 SOME CREATIVE MATHEMATICAL SOLUTION 512 00:31:03,829 --> 00:31:05,895 TO DESCRIBE BLACK HOLES FULLY, 513 00:31:05,897 --> 00:31:09,299 IT BREAKS DOWN, AND WE JUST CAN'T MAKE ANY PROGRESS. 514 00:31:11,370 --> 00:31:13,170 WE CAN'T MAKE RELIABLE PREDICTIONS, 515 00:31:13,172 --> 00:31:15,239 WE CAN'T COMPARE TO OBSERVATIONS. 516 00:31:15,241 --> 00:31:17,774 WHAT IS THE SOLUTION? 517 00:31:17,776 --> 00:31:19,977 WE HONESTLY DON'T KNOW. 518 00:31:19,979 --> 00:31:23,379 ♪♪ 519 00:31:23,381 --> 00:31:24,915 Narrator: SCIENTISTS ARE FINDING 520 00:31:24,917 --> 00:31:28,452 THAT GENERAL RELATIVITY AND QUANTUM MECHANICS 521 00:31:28,454 --> 00:31:31,188 GO HAYWIRE AT THE EDGE OF A BLACK HOLE. 522 00:31:33,458 --> 00:31:37,661 BUT INSIDE A BLACK HOLE, THINGS COULD BE EVEN WEIRDER. 523 00:31:37,663 --> 00:31:46,736 ♪♪ 524 00:31:46,738 --> 00:31:49,473 WHEN A GIANT DYING STAR COLLAPSES, 525 00:31:49,475 --> 00:31:53,676 THE MASS OF THE STAR FALLS IN AND KEEPS FALLING IN, 526 00:31:53,678 --> 00:31:56,879 CRUNCHING DOWN INTO AN INFINITELY SMALL POINT. 527 00:31:56,881 --> 00:32:02,085 ♪♪ 528 00:32:02,087 --> 00:32:06,222 THIS IS CALLED THE SINGULARITY. 529 00:32:06,224 --> 00:32:07,824 Tegmark: A SINGULARITY IS TROUBLING 530 00:32:07,826 --> 00:32:11,094 BECAUSE ALTHOUGH IT SOUNDS COOL AND SCIENTIFIC, 531 00:32:11,096 --> 00:32:13,030 IT'S REALLY JUST A FANCY WORD OF SAYING, 532 00:32:13,032 --> 00:32:16,366 "OH, WE HAVE NO CLUE WHAT HAPPENS HERE." 533 00:32:16,368 --> 00:32:19,769 Plait: THE WAY OUR PHYSICS DESCRIBES BLACK HOLES WHEN THEY FORM, 534 00:32:19,771 --> 00:32:22,172 YOU'RE TAKING A FINITE AMOUNT OF MASS 535 00:32:22,174 --> 00:32:24,441 AND YOU'RE COLLAPSING IT DOWN. 536 00:32:24,443 --> 00:32:27,977 AND ITS VOLUME SHOULD SHRINK ALL THE WAY TO ZERO, 537 00:32:27,979 --> 00:32:31,648 BUT THAT MEANS IT HAS INFINITE DENSITY AND INFINITE GRAVITY, 538 00:32:31,650 --> 00:32:33,316 AND THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. 539 00:32:33,318 --> 00:32:38,254 ♪♪ 540 00:32:38,256 --> 00:32:41,057 IF YOU MAKE A PREDICTION AND THE ANSWER IS INFINITE, 541 00:32:41,059 --> 00:32:44,528 IT TELLS YOU THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOUR PREDICTION, 542 00:32:44,530 --> 00:32:47,764 'CAUSE WE'VE NEVER SEEN AN INFINITY IN THE UNIVERSE TODAY. 543 00:32:51,069 --> 00:32:55,339 Narrator: ONCE AGAIN, QUANTUM MECHANICS IS AT THE HEART OF THE PROBLEM. 544 00:32:58,744 --> 00:33:00,811 Thaller: HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT THE TERM "QUANTUM MECHANICS" 545 00:33:00,813 --> 00:33:02,879 AND THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT THOSE WORDS MEAN? 546 00:33:02,881 --> 00:33:04,281 WELL, EVERYTHING IN THE UNIVERSE 547 00:33:04,283 --> 00:33:06,816 IS BROKEN UP INTO TINY, LITTLE UNITS. 548 00:33:06,818 --> 00:33:11,154 THERE REALLY IS A BASIC UNIT OF ENERGY, A UNIT OF TIME, 549 00:33:11,156 --> 00:33:14,624 EVEN A UNIT OF SPACE THAT CANNOT BE DIVIDED ANY FURTHER. 550 00:33:14,626 --> 00:33:17,427 THERE'S A LIMIT TO HOW SMALL THINGS CAN BE. 551 00:33:20,232 --> 00:33:22,833 Narrator: THE SMALLEST UNIT OF SPACE IN THE UNIVERSE 552 00:33:22,835 --> 00:33:26,836 IS WHAT'S KNOWN AS A PLANCK LENGTH. 553 00:33:26,838 --> 00:33:28,505 IF YOU TOOK A HUMAN HAIR 554 00:33:28,507 --> 00:33:32,042 AND BLEW IT UP TO THE WIDTH OF THE OBSERVABLE UNIVERSE, 555 00:33:32,044 --> 00:33:38,115 ONE PLANCK LENGTH WOULD BE ABOUT 1/4000th OF AN INCH. 556 00:33:38,117 --> 00:33:42,452 IF THERE IS A UNIVERSAL LIMIT ON THE SMALLEST SIZE, 557 00:33:42,454 --> 00:33:47,724 THEN SOMETHING INFINITELY SMALL CAN'T EXIST. 558 00:33:47,726 --> 00:33:50,460 WELL, IF INFINITY DOESN'T EXIST, THEN SINGULARITIES DON'T EXIST, 559 00:33:50,462 --> 00:33:51,995 AND IF SINGULARITIES DON'T EXIST, 560 00:33:51,997 --> 00:33:53,997 THEN EINSTEIN'S THEORY OF GENERAL RELATIVITY 561 00:33:53,999 --> 00:33:56,266 IS NOT CORRECT. 562 00:33:56,268 --> 00:33:58,068 THE SIMPLEST THING TO DO IS TO SAY, 563 00:33:58,070 --> 00:34:00,003 "WELL, LET'S CHOOSE SOME NEW EQUATIONS. 564 00:34:00,005 --> 00:34:02,939 LET'S CHANGE EINSTEIN'S THEORY OF GRAVITY SOMEHOW. 565 00:34:02,941 --> 00:34:06,009 LET'S INVENT WHAT WE WOULD CALL EXOTIC SPECULATIVE PHYSICS." 566 00:34:06,011 --> 00:34:11,615 ♪♪ 567 00:34:11,617 --> 00:34:15,419 Narrator: THIS SPECULATIVE PHYSICS HAS LED SCIENTISTS TO INVENT 568 00:34:15,421 --> 00:34:18,221 THE IDEA OF THE PLANCK STAR. 569 00:34:18,223 --> 00:34:23,893 ♪♪ 570 00:34:23,895 --> 00:34:25,896 IF YOU PASSED ONE IN SPACE, 571 00:34:25,898 --> 00:34:28,165 IT WOULD LOOK JUST LIKE A BLACK HOLE. 572 00:34:31,570 --> 00:34:35,705 BUT A PLANCK STAR DOESN'T HAVE A SINGULARITY AT ITS CORE. 573 00:34:37,709 --> 00:34:39,709 Tegmark: MAYBE THINGS CAN'T COLLAPSE DOWN 574 00:34:39,711 --> 00:34:42,646 TO LESS THAN THE PLANCK'S LENGTH, 575 00:34:42,648 --> 00:34:47,117 THAT MAYBE YOU GET STUCK WITH THIS LITTLE PLANCK-SIZE NUGGET 576 00:34:47,119 --> 00:34:50,087 THAT STABILIZES THINGS, KEEPS EVERYTHING FINITE. 577 00:34:52,057 --> 00:34:56,259 Narrator: SO, WHERE A SINGULARITY IS AT THE CENTER OF A BLACK HOLE, 578 00:34:56,261 --> 00:35:01,131 A PLANCK-SIZED NUGGET IS AT THE CENTER OF A PLANCK STAR. 579 00:35:03,802 --> 00:35:06,937 A PLANCK STAR IS JUST LIKE A BLACK HOLE, 580 00:35:06,939 --> 00:35:11,674 EXCEPT IT PLAYS BY THE RULES OF QUANTUM MECHANICS. 581 00:35:11,676 --> 00:35:16,680 THE PROBLEM IS, PLANCK STARS ARE JUST ANOTHER EXOTIC THEORY. 582 00:35:18,950 --> 00:35:22,352 THE REASON THERE ARE SO MANY EXOTIC ALTERNATIVES 583 00:35:22,354 --> 00:35:25,955 TO BLACK HOLES IS BECAUSE YOU CAN WRITE DOWN A GAZILLION 584 00:35:25,957 --> 00:35:29,358 DIFFERENT POSTULATED, MYSTERIOUS NEW KINDS OF MATTER 585 00:35:29,360 --> 00:35:32,428 AND SAY, "SUPPOSE THIS KIND OF WEIRD STUFF EXISTS. 586 00:35:32,430 --> 00:35:34,364 THEN MAYBE THAT COULD EXPLAIN THE DATA." 587 00:35:34,366 --> 00:35:35,632 PROBLEM IS, THERE'S NO EVIDENCE 588 00:35:35,634 --> 00:35:37,500 THAT ANY OF THAT KIND OF STUFF EXISTS. 589 00:35:37,502 --> 00:35:44,173 ♪♪ 590 00:35:44,175 --> 00:35:45,909 Narrator: SCIENTISTS ARE GETTING CREATIVE 591 00:35:45,911 --> 00:35:50,446 AS THEY TRY TO PROVE THAT BLACK HOLES EXIST. 592 00:35:50,448 --> 00:35:55,719 THEY'VE IMAGINED STRANGE OBJECTS AND USED EXOTIC WORKAROUNDS. 593 00:35:55,721 --> 00:35:59,990 BUT ONE BLACK HOLE IDEA IS THE STRANGEST OF ALL. 594 00:35:59,992 --> 00:36:04,460 WHAT IF WE ARE LIVING INSIDE OF ONE? 595 00:36:04,462 --> 00:36:06,329 IT WOULD BE THE MOST MIND-BLOWING THING EVER 596 00:36:06,331 --> 00:36:08,464 IF WE WERE ACTUALLY LIVING INSIDE A BLACK HOLE. 597 00:36:08,466 --> 00:36:10,467 AND THE CRAZY THING IS, IT COULD HAPPEN. 598 00:36:10,469 --> 00:36:12,269 IT COULD BE TRUE. 599 00:36:12,271 --> 00:36:21,778 ♪♪ 600 00:36:32,824 --> 00:36:41,998 ♪♪ 601 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:46,636 Narrator: BLACK HOLES ARE FULL OF THEORETICAL HOLES. 602 00:36:46,638 --> 00:36:50,640 SCIENTISTS SAY THEY'RE OUT THERE, BUT WE CAN'T SEE THEM. 603 00:36:50,642 --> 00:36:54,978 MATH SAYS THERE'S A SINGULARITY AT A BLACK HOLE'S CORE, 604 00:36:54,980 --> 00:36:57,880 BUT IN NATURE, THESE DON'T EXIST. 605 00:36:57,882 --> 00:37:00,917 THE RULES WE USE TO UNDERSTAND THE UNIVERSE 606 00:37:00,919 --> 00:37:04,387 SIMPLY DON'T SEEM TO APPLY TO BLACK HOLES. 607 00:37:04,389 --> 00:37:06,790 SO WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE US? 608 00:37:08,460 --> 00:37:10,794 MAYBE A CLASSICAL BLACK HOLE 609 00:37:10,796 --> 00:37:13,863 WITH AN EVENT HORIZON DESCRIBED BY GENERAL RELATIVITY 610 00:37:13,865 --> 00:37:17,267 JUST ISN'T THE PROPER DESCRIPTION OF THE PHYSICS. 611 00:37:17,269 --> 00:37:22,472 ♪♪ 612 00:37:22,474 --> 00:37:24,741 Narrator: THIS LACK OF UNDERSTANDING 613 00:37:24,743 --> 00:37:28,678 OPENS THE DOOR TO SOME OUTLANDISH THEORIES 614 00:37:28,680 --> 00:37:31,781 THAT AIM TO SHOW BLACK HOLES CAN EXIST. 615 00:37:35,821 --> 00:37:40,223 BUT ONE IDEA STANDS OUT AS THE STRANGEST OF THEM ALL. 616 00:37:42,694 --> 00:37:44,694 Thaller: IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE UNIVERSE, 617 00:37:44,696 --> 00:37:47,964 THERE ARE TWO PLACES WHERE EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BREAK DOWN. 618 00:37:47,966 --> 00:37:50,367 ONE IS INSIDE THE HEART OF A BLACK HOLE. 619 00:37:50,369 --> 00:37:53,103 THE OTHER IS WHAT HAPPENED RIGHT BEFORE THE BIG BANG. 620 00:37:53,105 --> 00:37:54,504 AND SOME PEOPLE HAVE WONDERED 621 00:37:54,506 --> 00:37:56,439 IF THESE TWO THINGS COULD BE LINKED. 622 00:37:56,441 --> 00:37:59,109 ♪♪ 623 00:37:59,111 --> 00:38:01,844 IT SOUNDS CRAZY, BUT THERE'S ACTUALLY A MODEL 624 00:38:01,846 --> 00:38:03,313 THAT YOU COULD PUT TOGETHER 625 00:38:03,315 --> 00:38:06,249 IN WHICH ALL OF OUR OBSERVATIONS OF THE UNIVERSE 626 00:38:06,251 --> 00:38:08,384 ARE ENTIRELY CONSISTENT 627 00:38:08,386 --> 00:38:11,988 WITH US ACTUALLY BEING INSIDE OF A BLACK HOLE. 628 00:38:11,990 --> 00:38:13,789 Narrator: HOW WOULD THAT WORK? 629 00:38:13,791 --> 00:38:16,326 WELL, A BLACK HOLE IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE 630 00:38:16,328 --> 00:38:19,462 A TINY, DENSE REGION AT ITS CORE 631 00:38:19,464 --> 00:38:23,166 CONTAINING TRILLIONS AND TRILLIONS OF TONS OF MATTER. 632 00:38:25,136 --> 00:38:27,803 THERE IS A THEORY THAT AS MATTER IS CRUSHED 633 00:38:27,805 --> 00:38:30,339 INTO THE CENTER OF A BLACK HOLE, IT ACTUALLY REACHES A POINT 634 00:38:30,341 --> 00:38:32,942 WHERE IT CAN BE CRUSHED NO FURTHER. 635 00:38:32,944 --> 00:38:36,346 AN EVENT LIKE THIS COULD, IN FACT, LEAD TO A BIG BANG. 636 00:38:39,484 --> 00:38:41,951 Narrator: WHEN THE COLLAPSING MATTER IN THE BLACK HOLE 637 00:38:41,953 --> 00:38:44,387 REACHES A MAXIMUM DENSITY... 638 00:38:46,491 --> 00:38:48,224 ...IT BOUNCES BACK, 639 00:38:48,226 --> 00:38:54,030 EXPANDING OUTWARDS IN A CATACLYSMIC EXPLOSION. 640 00:38:54,032 --> 00:38:58,635 THE MATTER GRADUALLY COOLS OVER TIME TO FORM ATOMS, 641 00:38:58,637 --> 00:39:02,072 BUILDING GALAXIES, STARS, AND PLANETS. 642 00:39:04,776 --> 00:39:06,976 IF THAT SOUNDS FAMILIAR, 643 00:39:06,978 --> 00:39:10,680 IT'S BECAUSE IT'S JUST LIKE THE UNIVERSE WE SEE TODAY. 644 00:39:13,051 --> 00:39:16,186 THIS IS ONE IDEA FOR HOW A UNIVERSE LIKE OURS IS FORMED -- 645 00:39:16,188 --> 00:39:18,922 THAT, IN FACT, WE ALL LIVE INSIDE OF A BLACK HOLE 646 00:39:18,924 --> 00:39:20,923 THAT WAS CREATED THIS WAY. 647 00:39:20,925 --> 00:39:22,325 WITHIN OUR GALAXY ALONE, 648 00:39:22,327 --> 00:39:25,194 THERE ARE TENS OF MILLIONS OF BLACK HOLES. 649 00:39:25,196 --> 00:39:26,996 AND JUST THINK -- INSIDE EACH ONE OF THEM 650 00:39:26,998 --> 00:39:29,598 COULD BE A BABY UNIVERSE WAITING TO BE BORN. 651 00:39:29,600 --> 00:39:30,633 THAT'S INCREDIBLE. 652 00:39:32,470 --> 00:39:35,271 Oluyesi: ARE WE INSIDE OF A BLACK HOLE THAT EXISTS IN A UNIVERSE 653 00:39:35,273 --> 00:39:38,474 THAT HAS OTHER BLACK HOLES THAT HAS OTHER UNIVERSES 654 00:39:38,476 --> 00:39:40,209 WHICH EXISTS INSIDE OF A BLACK HOLE? 655 00:39:40,211 --> 00:39:43,679 IT GOES ON AND ON AND ON AD INFINITUM. 656 00:39:43,681 --> 00:39:46,883 Narrator: ONCE AGAIN, THIS IS ALL THEORETICAL, 657 00:39:46,885 --> 00:39:50,219 BUT IT'S A COMPELLING IDEA. 658 00:39:50,221 --> 00:39:53,823 I MEAN, ARE WE ACTUALLY EXISTING INSIDE OF A BLACK HOLE? 659 00:39:53,825 --> 00:39:55,291 I DON'T KNOW, BUT, YOU KNOW, 660 00:39:55,293 --> 00:39:57,494 SOMETIMES WHEN I'M SITTING IN TRAFFIC WAITING TO GET HOME, 661 00:39:57,496 --> 00:40:00,497 IT FEELS LIKE TIME IS STRETCHED OUT INFINITELY. 662 00:40:02,033 --> 00:40:04,033 Tremblay: I DON'T THINK THAT YOU SHOULD LOSE SLEEP AT NIGHT 663 00:40:04,035 --> 00:40:06,702 WONDERING IF WE'RE ACTUALLY INSIDE OF A BLACK HOLE. 664 00:40:06,704 --> 00:40:08,704 THE ANSWER IS "PROBABLY NOT." 665 00:40:08,706 --> 00:40:12,242 BUT BECAUSE BLACK HOLES ARE JUST PUSHING AT THE EDGE 666 00:40:12,244 --> 00:40:14,711 OF WHAT WE UNDERSTAND ABOUT NATURE, 667 00:40:14,713 --> 00:40:16,379 THEY ARE THE PERFECT ILLUSTRATION 668 00:40:16,381 --> 00:40:18,581 OF EVERYTHING THAT WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE UNIVERSE, 669 00:40:18,583 --> 00:40:19,916 AND THAT IS A LOT. 670 00:40:19,918 --> 00:40:28,525 ♪♪ 671 00:40:28,527 --> 00:40:31,126 Narrator: SO, WHAT DO WE KNOW? 672 00:40:31,128 --> 00:40:32,929 WE CAN'T SEE BLACK HOLES. 673 00:40:32,931 --> 00:40:37,467 WE CAN ONLY FIND CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE OF THEM. 674 00:40:37,469 --> 00:40:42,405 THEY VIOLATE THE LAWS OF PHYSICS THAT PREDICT THEM. 675 00:40:42,407 --> 00:40:45,741 THEY MAY EVEN BE HAIRY. 676 00:40:45,743 --> 00:40:49,411 SO, DO THEY ACTUALLY EXIST? 677 00:40:49,413 --> 00:40:54,284 ♪♪ 678 00:40:54,286 --> 00:40:56,485 SO, I WILL TELL YOU THAT RIGHT NOW IN MODERN PHYSICS, 679 00:40:56,487 --> 00:40:58,554 WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IS GOING ON 680 00:40:58,556 --> 00:41:00,756 INSIDE THE HEART OF A BLACK HOLE, 681 00:41:00,758 --> 00:41:03,359 WHETHER BLACK HOLES IN THE TRUE SENSE REALLY EXIST AT ALL, 682 00:41:03,361 --> 00:41:05,895 BUT THE WONDERFUL THING IS THAT PHYSICS IS NOW TAKING US 683 00:41:05,897 --> 00:41:10,700 DOWN PATHS THAT WE WOULD NEVER HAVE IMAGINED BEFORE. 684 00:41:10,702 --> 00:41:14,904 LACK OF EVIDENCE OF HOW BLACK HOLES WORK 685 00:41:14,906 --> 00:41:18,308 IS NOT EVIDENCE AGAINST THE EXISTENCE OF BLACK HOLES. 686 00:41:18,310 --> 00:41:20,810 IT'S JUST EVIDENCE OF LACK OF UNDERSTANDING. 687 00:41:22,981 --> 00:41:25,047 Tremblay: IF YOU ASK ME WHAT I BELIEVE, 688 00:41:25,049 --> 00:41:27,050 I'D HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT I DON'T BELIEVE IN BLACK HOLES. 689 00:41:27,052 --> 00:41:29,452 I BELIEVE IN SOMETHING WHICH BEHAVES LIKE BLACK HOLES. 690 00:41:32,924 --> 00:41:35,991 Sutter: IT COULD BE THAT ALL THE OBJECTS IN OUR UNIVERSE 691 00:41:35,993 --> 00:41:38,661 THAT WE CURRENTLY IDENTIFY AS BLACK HOLES 692 00:41:38,663 --> 00:41:40,663 AREN'T REALLY BLACK HOLES, 693 00:41:40,665 --> 00:41:43,299 BUT IF I WERE TO BET, I WOULD BET ON BLACK HOLES. 694 00:41:46,137 --> 00:41:48,404 Freese: I THINK THEY'RE THE SIMPLEST EXPLANATION. 695 00:41:48,406 --> 00:41:51,541 YEP, THEY HAVE A LOT OF PROBLEMS THAT WE HAVE TO RESOLVE, 696 00:41:51,543 --> 00:41:54,010 BUT I DO -- I BELIEVE IN BLACK HOLES. 697 00:41:54,012 --> 00:41:56,613 ♪♪ 698 00:41:56,615 --> 00:41:58,681 Plait: WHATEVER IT IS THAT WE'RE SEEING, 699 00:41:58,683 --> 00:41:59,949 IT SMELLS LIKE A BLACK HOLE, 700 00:41:59,951 --> 00:42:02,218 WALKS LIKE A BLACK HOLE, IT QUACKS LIKE A BLACK HOLE. 701 00:42:02,220 --> 00:42:03,753 IT'S A BLACK HOLE. 702 00:42:06,291 --> 00:42:10,025 Narrator: RIGHT NOW, BLACK HOLES ARE THE BEST EXPLANATION 703 00:42:10,027 --> 00:42:12,362 FOR WHAT WE SEE OUT THERE. 704 00:42:12,364 --> 00:42:15,898 BUT IF WE CAN FIND A WAY TO UNIFY OUR THEORIES, 705 00:42:15,900 --> 00:42:18,768 WE MIGHT FINALLY PROVE THEY EXIST 706 00:42:18,770 --> 00:42:24,474 AND DISCOVER A WHOLE LOT MORE ABOUT HOW OUR UNIVERSE WORKS. 53321

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