Cool stuff. Thanks. I'll read through it later, but so far, all I can say is: Poor Nero.
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Black holes, contrary to their common image, do not necessarily suck up all the matter in the vicinity.[136] If, for example, the Sun was replaced by a black hole of equal mass, the orbits of the planets would be essentially unaffected.[137]
That is just dumb.Black Holes actually suck up all matter because of their extremly high mass.
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Yep, the second part i.e. after the 136 part is dead correct. The sun/blackhole would be much smaller, because blackhole material is super dense. If on the other hand, a blackhole the size of the sun were to appear, the shit would hit the fan as far as the planets were concerned.
The first part is also correct. If there is something moving incredibly fast (i.e. 0.99999999999999999999999999 c) just outside the Event Horizon, it would simply orbit the blackhole for eternity (or until it smacks into something else and slows down). That's not being consumed by the hole until something disturbs it's orbit.
Also there is the concept of slingshots - fly something fast past a large object and it can accelerate and fly a long way past (like a comet)... Black holes can do this with matter. High temperature gas (plasma) accelerating in a slingshot off a blackhole, but well away from the Event Horizon, would emit Bremstrahlung Radiation. Both the radiation and the gas escape the hole and per-se aren't consumed as they were outside the Event Horizon.
Basically, if an object is moving below the escape velocity at it's location it will be consumed. Otherwise, it can escape.
1 fundamental problem with you saying that black holes consume all matter - why haven't all the spiral galaxies with supermassive blackholes at their cores collapsed yet? Answer: the matter in the rest of the spiral is moving faster than the escape velocity of the hole.
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Albert Einstein did not fail mathematics in school, as is commonly believed. Upon being shown a column claiming this fact, Einstein said "I never failed in mathematics... Before I was fifteen I had mastered differential and integral calculus." . All my dream are shuttered into tiny little pieces.
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Fun fact : In italy that page was censored... what a shame
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Is it just me that was mildly amused by the thought that a guy named Thomas Crapper is widely thought to be the inventor of the flushing toilet. Instead he made the ballcock mechanism and several other thing.
;P
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What do you get taught in grade school History?
My comment was more just a childish laugh at the fact that a guy called Crapper is thought to have invented the flushing toilet ;)
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Sadly, when I was in grade school (California, circa 1990-1996), pretty much every historical misconception in that list loosely pertaining to the United States was taught as fact:
Columbus' voyage was hampered by belief in a flat earth.
Columbus discovered America.
Pilgrims wore black and buckles.
Pilgrimss performed the first Thanksgiving.
George Washington had wooden teeth.
The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776.
Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves in ALL states with the Emancipation Proclamation.
The Great Chicago Fire was started by the cow.
JFK's "Ich bin ein Berliner" meant "I am a doughnut".
Hell, almost every misconception in that list PERIOD was taught as fact. Fact-checking in American education is bull :P
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Thanks it's really interesting.especially this "Black holes, contrary to their common image, do not necessarily suck up all the matter in the vicinity.[136] If, for example, the Sun was replaced by a black hole of equal mass, the orbits of the planets would be essentially unaffected.[137]"
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Went straight to astronomy. Was kinda disappointed that the misconceptions about the temperatures of Mercury and Venus are not mentioned.
Most people who haven't taken an interest in astronomy would usually think by logic that Mercury is a flaming rock due to being so close to the Sun. In reality due to a nearly non-existent atmosphere heat is not kept on the surface, so while during the "day" it's very hot, during the "night" it reaches extremely low negative temperatures. On the other hand, because Venus has a very dense atmosphere it generates a super strong Greenhouse effect, making the entire surface of Venus hotter than Mercury.
Then again, I'd guess anyone interested in astronomy would know that, but anyone not interested is left in the blind.
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I'm pretty sure the Mercury and Venus misconceptions have long since vanished. I remember being properly taught about Mercurial and Venusian surface conditions in grade school (yet in middle school I was still taught electron "shell" theory; go figure).
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Oh, well, I guess I was just going to a really crappy school then. We were told this waaay in 12-th grade and that was only because my physics teacher that year was awesome and decided that a little presentation with details about the Solar System would be interesting. Then again I'd guess American schools are better than Bulgarian ones even if you're taught inaccurate history. :P
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I won't try to compare education internationally as, without first-hand experience, any comparison I might make could be rudely biased. But, when I can look at the existing misconceptions page and remember being taught at least 80% of its content (not an exaggeration) as fact, I'd call that terrible :)
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I would like everyone to spend a couple of minutes a day reading this.
Misconceptions
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