Why Study Black Holes?
If black holes are so mysterious and in many ways unknowable, it is only natural for the layperson to wonder if they are worth studying at all. Would it not make more sense for astronomers to spend their time, energy, and money pursuing more practical endeavors? The answer to this question is a resounding no. More and more evidence suggests that black holes are intimately connected to many of the most fundamental processes of the universe. First, these objects are manifestations of ordinary gravity working overtime, so to speak. Gravity is the force that holds the universe together, and the more that scientists can learn about gravity, the better they can explain the origins and structure of the universe. “A strong motivation for searching for black holes,” physicists Mitchell Begelman and Martin Rees write, “is that they represent objects where gravity has overwhelmed all other forces, allowing one to test theories of gravitation under the most extreme conditions.” 4 Among the other r
