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Gamma Ray Bursts are Nascent Black Holes

tjgoodwin writes "A paper (PDF format) published in Nature shows, for the first time, that Gamma Ray Bursts are the result of a massive (> 10 solar masses) star collapsing to form a black hole. PPARC has a press release which includes a notable picture of a T. Rex glancing nervously over its shoulder at a supernova!"

20 comments

  1. T-rex by Violet+Null · · Score: 3, Funny

    "...which includes a notable picture of a T. Rex glancing nervously over its shoulder at a supernova!"

    My parents tell me about the days before they had time-travel journalism, but I have to say, I don't believe it.

  2. Yeah right! by Orre · · Score: 1

    Yeah right! and beer glasses talk!

    1. Re:Yeah right! by Verne · · Score: 1

      well, according to this article they at least tell you how full they are...

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      There are only two things in this world that smell like fish. And one of them's fish...
  3. lmao! by Cenam · · Score: 0

    i stopped reading when i saw "this is the only way that...", anyone who uses that phrase to prove thier ideas is not looking hard enough:)

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    The Truth: There is no string:)
  4. Well by TheGreenLantern · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm sure Reed Richards and the rest of the Fantastic Four will be happy to hear this. Perhaps they can now develop shielding for the X-10 rocket ship that will finally be able to block those nasty Gamma Rays.

    Oh wait, those were cosmic rays. And come to think of it, why they hell would you want to block them? Hell, who doesn't want cool super powers? Trust me kids, it's a blast.

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    It hurts when I pee.
    1. Re:Well by Drakin · · Score: 1

      Hulk was made by gamma rays... you really want to be big, green and stupid?

    2. Re:Well by TheGreenLantern · · Score: 2

      You got something against green?

      --

      It hurts when I pee.
    3. Re:Well by ckkatwork · · Score: 1

      Two things:

      1. If you think X11 sucks, you should have seen X10.

      2. What about the effects on man-in-the-moon marigolds?

  5. Seems the dot-com collapse is a bit widespread.. by billn · · Score: 3, Funny

    The pattern of gamma ray bursts uses the same dispersion model of fleeing CEO's from massive (>10 billion shares) companies collapsing to form investor black holes.

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    - billn
  6. Gravastars? by pubudu · · Score: 4, Insightful
    I saw a special on PBS a while back that came to basically the same conclusion, that only a hypernova could produce enough energy for us to notice them at that distance. Is this paper simply more experimental verification?

    Of course, my real question is whether the purported alternative to black holes, viz. gravastars (Gravitational Condensate Stars; described here, with an associated /. story here), would do the same thing. It's my understanding that a gravastar would appear (almost?) identical to a black hole from the outside, and so ought to be able to produce this kind of phenomenon, but is it so? Would a star collapsing into a gravastar produce a gamma-ray burst? (I assume that, since they are different from black holes, the details of their formation would be different, as well--perhaps different enough to upset the whole thing.)

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    under-paid karma whore

  7. TRex caption by finity · · Score: 1

    I like the t-rex picture's caption: "Gamma Ray Burst Of Doom"!!!!! It sounds like a cheesy B movie.

  8. Big discovery! by DomoKun · · Score: 1

    This is actually a big discovery, if completly true, scientists can now easily count the number of newly born black holes (or gravastars or whatever they are). Making it possible to estimate the total number of black holes in the universe, and if you combine this with the avarage mass of black holes, you can account for alot of darkmatter or not. *INAS*

    1. Re:Big discovery! by drudd · · Score: 2

      Interestingly I just went to a colloquia on this very topic today...

      While the current theories do involve accretion onto a black hole, the accretion rates necessary to power a GRB are very high (0.1 solar masses per second!). Several possible ways to get these kind of rates are with mergers of a black hole and a neutron star or white dwarf, or by having a red giant engulf its binary white dwarf, short circuiting the supernova track.

      Now to answer your question: these black holes are formed from stars. The average mass of these objects are on the order of a few solar masses, and are also very rare (something like 1 every 10 million years in our galaxy). In short, black holes formed in this way are not even close to being significant contributors to dark matter.

      Doug

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      Venn ist das nurnstuck git und Slotermeyer? Ya! Beigerhund das oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!
  9. Inconclusive whether this is the dominant method. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I saw a special on PBS a while back that came to basically the same conclusion, that only a hypernova could produce enough energy for us to notice them at that distance. Is this paper simply more experimental verification?

    This paper is verification that the mechanism can happen. It says nothing (so far) about whether this is the only method, or even the dominant method.

    They studied one burst in detail, and found spectral traces strongly suggesting that it was a hypernova event.

    Other high-energy events (mostly involving neutron stars) could produce similar gamma ray bursts, but would lack the spectral signature of light elements being blasted away from the bursts.

    Only after a survey of many, bursts will we have some idea of what the primary burst mechanism is (and the article mentions a satellite in development that will do exactly this). The results will be interesting, either way.

  10. So by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    is the black hole slowly losing mass to make up for the gamma particles or is "Free energy" really possible http://colossus2.cvl.bcm.tmc.edu/~wje/free_energy/

  11. Ripped off in Australia last night? by ynotds · · Score: 1
    I saw a special on PBS a while back that came to basically the same conclusion, that only a hypernova ...

    Sounds very much like the program I caught on (Australian) ABC TV last night, which made every effort to look like a very current local production. They definitely made use of some of the same simulations that are shown on the PPARC press release linked from the story.

    However the narrator on our ABC was clearly out of his depth:
    Scientists knew that all the elements that make up the universe - the galaxies, the planets, even the air we breathe and the bones in our bodies - were all first made inside stars.

    ... but the mystery is: if the stars make all the elements then what made the very first stars?

    The answer has to lie in those cosmic Dark Ages of the dawn of time. What scientists have now realised is that the gamma ray bursts may be a way of seeing into those Dark Ages.

    seemingly ignorant of an expert mentioning "heavier elements" while he, the narrator, must have been too busy trying to invent his own idiosynchratic creation mythology to take notice of the quotes he was supposed to be bracketing.

    I already posted my lay thoughts on gravastars and the idea of hypernova added nothing to them.
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    -- Our systemic servants do not good masters make.
    1. Re:Ripped off in Australia last night? by pubudu · · Score: 2
      Sounds very much like the program [abc.net.au] I caught on (Australian) ABC TV last night, which made every effort to look like a very current local production. They definitely made use of some of the same simulations that are shown on the PPARC press release linked from the story.

      I don't think it was the same program. The PBS program was produced by Nova; it was entitled Death Star. A transcript is here. I suspect that everyone uses the simulations provided by the researchers, rather than create their own from scratch without understanding the physics.

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      under-paid karma whore

  12. Re:Kai Hansen is GOD! by Avatar1000 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Ok RingBarer - I realize that troll just for fun because apathy has destroyed your respect for all the other readers of this site, but you have really stooped to a new low.
    The Israelites have never wanted peace. Period. The US has given Israel carte-blanche to piss in everyones Wheaties with absolutly NO harmful repercussions for Israel at all, and they have set out to do exactly that. The continuation of hostilities allows the Israelies to paint themselves as victims and seize territory at the same time - a ploy that only the US seems to have been duped by.
    Pay close attention to the casualty numbers, whenever you hear them; and try to remember the lesson the US failed to learn in SE Asian conflicts - anyone who ISN'T against you, will certainly become your enemy after you start murdering their family members. Remember the 'Intifada' fighting last year? "Over 160 killed, including 10 Israelies..." doesn't it occassionally make you wonder who the violence really serves?
    Ok, so casualty numbers aside, lets count hardware: Israel gets tanks, planes, and other military equipment from the US - and in many cases buys better versions than we make available to our other allies. How many tanks can the Palestinians feild? What is the strength of the Palestinian Air Force? Do the Palestinians have a Navy? No? What DO they have, then - poorly trained light infantry irregulars? Please excuse me if I think this sounds like a very uneven fight.
    Why are Israelies indiscrimantely targetted? Several possible reasons come to mind - first, the Palestinians aren't deluded enough to think that they could win an open feild battle vs Israel, especially since the US would do it's level best to prop the Israelies up in any concievable way. Second, the Innocent 'embittered, harrowed person' who is the Israelite settler is an instrument of the expansionist Israeli foriegn policy! The simple presence of the 'settlers' justifies destroying Palestinian property, evicting Palestinians from their own homes, and creating restrictive and invasive 'Security Measures'. Thirdly, often the Palestinians who act rashly enough to be labeled 'terrorists' are just plain blind FURIOUS and often justifiably so. This results in reckless, pointless, futile acts - just to 'make the invaders suffer'. The deaths of civilians IS tragic, and certainly the ugliest side of war; and I will not excuse it - but remember who is suffering the disproportionate share of these horrific victimizations (Hint: not the Israelies).
    Why did the US back Israel in the first place? It has certainly played merry havoc with our "utter nonsense which is supposed to be a Middle East Policy". Heck, the US is targetted by Radical Islamic Fundamentalist (RIF) terror groups BECAUSE of our unhesitating and unquestioning support of Israels bloody-handed and expansionist tactics. Virtually all of these groups would run out of steam and cease to be if the US decided to take its foriegn policy blinders off. What does Israel do for us? Nothing? What about the Arabs? Hmm - well they do invest quite a bit of their capital in the west, and their willingness to sell us oil certainly makes life here in the US a lot more comfortable. As for the charge that Islam is a religion of war and murder, let me point out that Mohammad is only recorded as having said the word JIHAD very few times (twice I think..) and in EVERY instance he spoke of a jihad in the soul - a holy war waged within oneself against vice and evil. That a few frothing fanatics (and believe me, they exist in Every religion) have managed to get large followings of people ready to take the word 'Jihad' as an opportunity to martyr themselves is only a measure of the desperation of the victims of a policy of systematic genocide.
    What should be done? Well, clearly diplomacy hasn't worked; the Israelies have demanded impossible concession after impossible concession in an effort to kill every peace effort ever attempted - and all the while try to paint themselves as the ones making all the overtures. Clearly, if diplomacy is sver to suceed, we here in the US should light a fire under their butts to get down to serious business. After all, a small state exists only at the sufferance of it neighbors (ask San Marino or Luxemborg) - and if we can make it in Israels interest to start being a good neighbor, perhaps the talks will have a chance. Cessation of all arms sales to Israel would be a good start; and please pardon me if the Dual-National deal offered SOLEY to Israelite-Americans looks a little odd (is this just an easier way to get Massad operatives across the border?) and in need of trimming. Another initiative that the US should probably take up is the withdrawal of ALL Israelites back to the original borders set out in the UN charter which formed Israel - this includes the emptying of the exploitative fortified 'settlements'.
    Just my two cents - clearly I don't have all the answers, but I am sick of being covered in the Pro-Israeli propaganda which the so-called 'news' shovels out over here in great steaming loads. That said, no I do not hate Jews, several members of my extended family are Jewish (I don't think anyone is Islamic.. but we do have a couple Hare Krishnas). I have had several Jewish friends, and - in general - think that Jews are just as decent, honest, and hardworking as group can be expected to be. I am not a Nazi, a Radical Islamic
    Fundamentalist (Heck, truth be told, I am an agnostic), a Palestinian, an Arab, or anyone else 'too close to the issue'. I just despise Israels bloody-handed antics; and I think that the Israelies condone this policy or they would have chosen a more peaceful government.

    PS - Sorry Joey (God War Sex Rugby): I know we won't ever see eye-to-eye on this; but there's my veiw anyway.

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    I have no Sig.