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HOWTO-Escape-Black-Hole

Posted by michael on from the keep-this-handy-just-in-case dept.

Adam writes: "Below is a new HOWTO on escaping black hole, soon to be on linuxdoc.org ...Well, mabye not quite literally, still interesting. HOWTO-escape-bl ack-holes." Hmmm. Well, it's matter escaping from the accretion disk, which by definition is not inside the event horizon yet, so it's nothing really radical, but the producers of Star Trek-like shows can keep this handy for cheesy dialog on next season's shows. "Captain, we are activating the ion ray chambers to ride the supersonic winds out of the black hole!"

16 comments

  1. Curious... by AtomicClock · · Score: 2

    The article refers to "supersonic" speeds, but in the pseudo-vacuum accretion disk of a black hole, what exactly is the speed of sound?

    1. Re:Curious... by crovax · · Score: 1

      Sound will not travel through a hard vacum. But they are using winds to travel. Those winds are composed of "space dust". Could the dust carry sound in space? I *think* no. Though when they say supersonic they do so probably using the standard speed of sound(ie. 32 deg F, dry air at see level wich is 331.6 m/sec). But if the ship traveled on the dust and the dust could carry sound then without and second source of propulsion the ship could not travel faster than the speed of the wind wich would much slower than sound.
      -----
      If my facts are wrong then tell me. I don't mind.

    2. Re:Curious... by AtomicClock · · Score: 1

      Your facts are fine, but I was being sarcastic... I'm well aware of this myself. :D However, the speed of sound varies by the density of the medium through which it travels. In this instance, it is inappropriate to use such a "constant" as a comparision. But thank you anyway.

    3. Re:Curious... by Superb0wl · · Score: 1

      How can matter traveling at mere "supersonic speeds" escape a black hole that, if i quote correctly "pulls everything in, even light." I think the matter would have to travel faster than light to leave. Can we say "warp drive?" hehe
      -Superb0wl

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      -Superb0wl
      It's not that I'm lazy....it's that I just don't care.
    4. Re:Curious... by davstok · · Score: 1

      In space no one can hear you scream - mostly cos you're wearing a helmet, and forgot in your terror to put the mike on. However, near a black hole it gets sucked away faster than the speed of sound, so no chance. Actually, people already in the hole can hear you, you just can't hear them. (They're screaming louder than you actually, as their bodies are pulled out into a thin scream of sub-atomic particles. Sorry, stream).

      Another bit of redundant nonsense.

    5. Re:Curious... by danderson · · Score: 1

      ... but if a tree falls in a black hole, will there be a sound?

      --
      This is supposed to be great art. So why does it look like a bunch of decapitated naked people? -- Calvin
    6. Re:Curious... by EricWright · · Score: 2

      There is no such thing as a true vacuum. The speed of sound (anywhere) is sqrt(\gamma P / \rho), where gamma is the ratio of specific heats, 5/3 for an ideal gas, P is the local gas pressure which can be estimated from the ideal gas law, and \rho is the local mass density.

      Eric

  2. HOWTOs, documentation, and monkeys by LNO · · Score: 4
    Posting this on linuxdoc.org is all fine and good, but what good will that do you when you're inside a black hole, eh? We should propose to Congress that this HOWTO be posted inside every black hole that a child could conceivably find.

    Won't somebody please think of the children?

    1. Re:HOWTOs, documentation, and monkeys by mduell · · Score: 1

      You could probably post it _in_ the black hole (you know, around the inner edge, facing in so you can read it when you inside) using IMPS :)

      The above is only becuase your subject contained monkeys and your comment didnt.

      Mark Duell

  3. LOL! by Mustang+Matt · · Score: 1

    If I had mod points, I'd mod you up.

    --
    The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. - Benjamin Franklin
  4. Why do we want to escape black holes? by a_1242 · · Score: 1

    Why do we need this HOW-TO black holes are a good thing, no one has ever gone into one we should be making HOW-TOs about black hole exploration or HOW-TO-Live-In-Black-Holes, and we espically need a HOW-TO-Run-Linux-In-Black-Holes, as time slows down toward the inside of a black hole and not enough research has gone to how to use Linux in a timeless enviroment.
    -Nick

    1. Re:Why do we want to escape black holes? by ultrabot · · Score: 1
      and we espically need a HOW-TO-Run-Linux-In-Black-Holes, as time slows down toward the inside of a black hole and not enough research has gone to how to use Linux in a timeless enviroment

      Actually, black holes could be a great niche market for the Network Computer - concept (as well as centralized Unix server w/ remote clients). Servers could be running outside the black hole, while clients would be closer to the core. I bet the savings for this would easily cover the expenses caused by providing the life support setup within a black hole.

      --
      Save your wrists today - switch to Dvorak
    2. Re:Why do we want to escape black holes? by provolt · · Score: 1


      I personally think this experimentation should be done concurently with over experiments on how to survive the spaghetti effect.

      provolt
      provolt@provolt.net

  5. But hold on... by Phr3n3tik · · Score: 1

    There was another story here on /. a while back, about the "Gravitational Strength Tensor" which, when inserted into the equations for black holes, eliminate the imaginary number components, thus demonstrating that there really is no event horizon, or singularity within the center. Blackholes are just _really_ large-mass systems, which our old equations couldn't calculate correctly... Not to mention the other recent story, in which it's mentioned that gravity may be exerting it's possibly tremendous force across multiple dimensions simultaneously... Try working those two together....

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    -------------------- Hmmm... what does this button d
  6. hmmm.... by qwertykid · · Score: 1

    I propose that you all read a book entitled Black Holes and Time Warps -- Einstein's Outrageous Legacy by Kip Thorne... Maybe you all could benefit from a little knowledge about this subject...

  7. are you the bastard child of... by TotallyUseless · · Score: 1

    jeffk?

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    Time for some tasty Shiner Bock!