2844: Black Holes vs Regular Holes

2023-10-23T13:00:43Z

Chuntuk: Corrected spelling eponimous -> eponymous

{{comic
| number = 2844
| date = October 20, 2023
| title = Black Holes vs Regular Holes
| image = black_holes_vs_regular_holes_2x.png
| imagesize = 525x743px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Created by the collapse of: [massive stars] [Florida limestone bedrock]
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a CHILD FALLING IN TO A FRIEND'S BLACK HOLE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a comparison between {{w|black hole}}s and regular, everyday {{w|hole}}s.

{| class="wikitable"
!
! scope="col"| Black hole
! scope="col"| Regular hole
! Scope="col"| Explanation
|-
! scope="row" | Usually formed by...
| Supernovas, colliding stars
| Shovels, small mammals
| Black holes are created by large stars going supernova, or occasionally by two stars, especially neutron stars, colliding. On the contrary, regular holes are often created by humans using shovels, as well as small mammals such as moles or dogs. Of course, this is by no means limited only to small mammals. Many animals, from elephants to ants, are also known to create this kind of hole.
|-
! scope="row" | Falling in is...
| Definitely fatal
| Sometimes fatal
| Falling into a black hole is almost{{Actual citation needed}} always fatal. On the other hand, if a regular hole is deep enough, it is possible for someone to die by falling into it.
|-
! scope="row" | Created by the Big Bang
| Maybe
| No
| Like many other celestial objects, black holes may have been created by the {{w|Big Bang}}, however ordinary holes were almost definitely not created this way. But, because the entire universe started with the Big Bang, everything in it (including ordinary holes) could be argued to be "created" by it.
|-
! scope="row" | Created by children playing at the beach
| I '''''really''''' hope not
| Yes
| Creating black holes causes many unfortunate events to occur, and is very difficult to do. Hence, Randall really hopes that children are not accidentally creating black holes on the beach, as this would be cataclysmic for our planet.{{citation needed}} On the other hand, children commonly dig holes in sand at beaches, and this is a normal thing for them to do.
Alternatively it could be about some {{tvtropes|EldritchAbomination|Eldritch Abomination}} children playing at a cosmic beach we are talking about. In which case, "hopefully not" is also a good response.
|-
! scope="row" | Source of many precious metals
| Indirectly
| Yes
| Both the supernovae that create black holes and various events involving black holes, such as black hole/neutron star mergers, produce large quantities of heavy elements, including precious metals found on Earth. Those metals are often underground, and are thus recovered from a regular hole, called a mine.
|-
! scope="row" | Einstein imagined falling into one
| Yes
| Probably at least once
| The thought experiments of {{w|Albert Einstein}}, particularly in relation to {{w|general relativity}}, involve consideration of what happens when one falls through gravitationally-curved space. Aside from this, almost everyone has had a reason to consider the possibility of falling into a normal hole.
|-
! scope="row" | A component of dark matter
| Maybe
| Probably not
| {{w|Dark matter}} is a theoretical part of the universe, a large amount of its total calculated mass which cannot (yet) be directly seen. It is considered possible that at least some of this 'missing mass' is in the form of black holes. It is not generally considered an option that ordinary holes have anything to do with this.
|-
! scope="row" | Created by the Large Hadron Collider
| No
| Yes
| There were concerns when the {{w|Large Hadron Collider}} (LHC), a particle super-collider, was initially put into operation that it would create a black hole that would destroy the Earth. This did not happen.{{Citation needed}} However, the LHC is mostly underground, and its construction required the digging of many holes.
|-
! scope="row" | Massive stars often collapse into them
| Yes
| No
| If a star is large enough, when the star dies, it may still have enough gravity to collapse back into itself, thus creating a black hole. This does not happen with regular holes, and would likely mean the end of the world if one did.
|-
! scope="row" | Explored by humans in famous sci-fi stories
| Yes
| Yes
| Many sci-fi stories and movies explore black holes and regular holes alike. In particular, there's the eponymous classic ''{{w|The Black Hole}}'' and more recent films such as ''{{w|Interstellar (film)|Interstellar}}'', both about space missions that encounter a black hole. {{w|Journey to the Center of the Earth}} is a classic novel by {{w|Jules Verne}} (and made into {{w|Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959 film)|various}} {{w|Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008 theatrical film)|films}}) which involves going into a volcano tube (a kind of hole). H. P. Lovecraft's 1921 short story ''{{w|The Nameless City}}'' involves the explorer narrator venturing into an ancient tunnel (entered through a hole) dug by a pre-human civilization under the Arabian peninsula, and ''{{w|At the Mountains of Madness}}'' involves tunnels lost in the continent of Antarctica. 
|-
! scope="row" | Fatal to get a big one in your body
| Yes
| Yes
| If a black hole appeared inside of a person's body, they would almost definitely die instantly.{{citation needed}} The same goes for a regular hole - if you cut out a massive section of a human's body, they would likely bleed out. This also applies for the holes left by bullets and other high-speed projectiles.
|-
! scope="row" | Some of them are the mouths of wormholes
| Maybe
| Yes
| Black holes are commonly portrayed to be the entrances of {{w|wormhole}}s, especially in sci-fi stories. While wormholes remain purely theoretical, if they exist, some common models for them suggest one end would appear as a black hole, drawing matter in to be ejected from a 'white hole' elsewhere. On the other side, many species of worms live in shallow holes, with a "mouth" on the surface - the "mouth" of the "worm hole". This could also be a reference to Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, when the Millennium Falcon spacecraft almost gets swallowed by a giant worm in an asteroid hole.
|-
! scope="row" | Stephen Hawking and Kip Thorne argued that any information that falls into them is lost forever
| Yes
| No
| The {{w|Black hole information paradox}} is a paradox arising from a contradiction between two widely-accepted theories related to black holes. Scientist {{w|Stephen Hawking}}, famous for his research into black holes, said that black holes release their energy over time, eventually disappearing, through {{w|Hawking Radiation}}. According to this theory, if information was also to enter the black hole, it would be released alongside this radiation. On the other hand, the {{w|No-hair theorem}} states that all black holes are completely identical outside of three key features: mass, spin, and electric charge. If information that fell into a black hole is released with Hawking radiation, then that means that there ''must'' be more than three properties of black holes.
On the other hand, information that falls into a normal hole is not lost forever, and can likely still be reobtained, especially if the information is stored physically. Hawking and {{w|Kip Thorne}} famously made a {{w|Thorne–Hawking–Preskill bet|bet}} with {{w|John Preskill}} over this paradox.
|-
! scope="row" | Commonly inhabited by meerkats
| Undetermined
| Yes
|{{w|Meerkat}}s commonly live in holes underground. It is highly unlikely that Earth mammals live in black holes, but because it is impossible to know what lies beyond the event horizon it is [[technically]] impossible to falsify the postulate that there are meerkats there.
|-
! scope="row" | (title text) Created by the collapse of
| Massive stars
| Florida limestone bedrock
| As mentioned before, Black holes are often created by the collapse of massive stars. On the other hand, many {{w|sinkhole}}s in Florida are caused due to most {{w|bedrock}} in the state being made of {{w|limestone}}, which is naturally soluble - that is, easily dissolved in water. Sinkholes from dissolved limestone are generally entrances to [https://caves.org/ caves] that explore further limestone dissolving from underground waterways. Florida is known for its warm underwater caves [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/science-behind-floridas-sinkhole-epidemic-180969158/ and opening sinkholes].
|}

==Transcript==
:[A table comparing two main columns of relevence to various statements]
:[First column is headed:] Black Hole
:[Second column is headed:] Regular Hole
:[Respective statements cells placed to the left of both, below]

:[Statement:] Usually formed by...
:[Black hole:] Supernovas, colliding stars
:[Regular hole:| Shovels, small mammals

:[Statement:] Falling in is...
:[Black hole:] Definitely fatal
:[Regular hole:| Sometimes fatal

:[Statement:] Created by the Big Bang
:[Black hole:] Maybe
:[Regular hole:| No

:[Statement:] Created by children playing at the beach
:[Black hole:] I really hope not [with emphasis on "really"]
:[Regular hole:| Yes

:[Statement:] Source of many precious metals
:[Black hole:] Indirectly
:[Regular hole:| Yes

:[Statement:] Einstein imagined falling into one
:[Black hole:] Yes
:[Regular hole:| Probably at least once

:[Statement:] A component of dark matter
:[Black hole:] Maybe
:[Regular hole:| Probably not

:[Statement:] Created by the Large Hadron Collider
:[Black hole:] No
:[Regular hole:| Yes

:[Statement:] Massive stars often collapse into them
:[Black hole:] Yes
:[Regular hole:| No

:[Statement:] Explored by humans in famous sci-fi stories
:[Black hole:] Yes
:[Regular hole:| Yes

:[Statement:] Fatal to get a big one in your body
:[Black hole:] Yes
:[Regular hole:| Yes

:[Statement:] Some of them are the mouths of wormholes
:[Black hole:] Maybe
:[Regular hole:| Yes

:[Statement:] Stephen Hawking and Kip Thorne argued that any information that falls into them is lost forever
:[Black hole:] Yes
:[Regular hole:| No

:[Statement:] Commonly inhabited by meerkats
:[Black hole:] Undetermined
:[Regular hole:| Yes

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Cosmology]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

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2844: Black Holes vs Regular Holes