Black Holes Supermassively Misunderstood

Hawking, S. W. A Brief History of Time: from the Big Bang to Black Holes. Toronto: Bantam, 1988.
This book describes the history of black holes and what they are. Also, it gets into the dynamics of black holes using quantum mechanics. This book is recommended because it takes the complex idea of black holes and simplifies it for many to understand. Stephen Hawking is a theoretical physicist who has published many books and received many awards on his work, such as the Wolf Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Carroll, Sean M. Spacetime and Geometry: an Introduction to General Relativity. San Francisco: Addison Wesley, 2004.

This book is a more modern look at general relativity and it’s applications on many subjects, including black holes. This book is recommended because an understanding of general relativity helps in understanding black holes, and this book thoroughly explains it in a modern way. Sean Carroll is an assistant professor in the Physics Department, Enrico Fermi Institute, and Center for Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago.

Einstein, Albert, and Robert W. Lawson. Relativity; the Special and General Theory,. New York: H. Holt and Company, 1920. Print.

This book was the first written on the theory of general relativity and it suggests the existence of many space-time phenomena, including that of black holes. This book is recommended because it is one of the origins of black holes. Albert Einstein is a theoretical physicist who created the theory of general relativity and is thought of as the ‘father of modern physics.’ Robert Lawson was the man who translated Einstein’s work from German to English.

Melia, Fulvio. The Edge of Infinity: Supermassive Black Holes in the Universe. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2003. Print.

This book changes how most people view super massive black holes. It takes them from a huge destructive force into what very well may have created different structures in the universe. This book is recommended because it descrives supermassive black holes and some of the things they could do. Fulvio Melia is Associate Head of Physics and Professor of Astronomy at the University of Arizona.

Thorne, Kip S. Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy. New York: W.W. Norton, 1994. Print.

This books provides a brief history of black holes, from the scientist who contributed to the theory to the unique characteristics of black holes. It also gets into how the concept of a black hole has changed throughout the years.  Until 2009, Thorne was the Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics at CalTech and he is known for his contributions to the studies of gravitation physics and astrophysics.

Quinon, Michael. "Black Hole." World Wide Words. Michael Quinon, 26 Apr. 2008. Web. 01 Dec. 2011. [http://www.worldwidewords.org/topicalwords/tw-bla1.htm]

This article discusses the origins of the term ‘black hole’. It discusses where most people believe it came from, John Wheeler, and continues on to show that it may have come from a completely different source. This article is recommended because, while it’s not the most significant thing, it is interesting to know the origins of the term ‘black hole’ and, as the article says “If you prefer truth to fiction, then it’s worth putting the record straight.” Quinon is an etymologist and writer who runs the website ‘World Wide Words. He has published many of his own books on linguistics, as well as contributed to the Oxford English Dictionary.

Shiga, David. "Early Black Holes Formed Inside Huge Gas Clouds." New Scientist 209.2804 (2011): 01. Academic Search Premier. Web. 9 Dec. 2011.

This article examines how black holes may have been created when the universe was still young. These are based off of calculations from Mitchell Begelman and Warrick Ball, the former  a professor from the University of Colorado and the latter a graduate student with a PhD in Astronomy from the University of Cambridge. Shiga is a reporter for the magazine, and online blog, New Scientist, which reports on results of new scientific ‘human endeavors’.

Folger, Tim. "Patently Absurd." Discover 29.3 (2008): 54-57. Academic Search Premier. Web. 9 Dec. 2011.

While the article is about Einstein’s doubts about his theories, it does speak about the origins of black holes and how Karl Schwarzschild discovered them and Oppenheimer, the physicist, deduced they would be created. This article is recommended because, aside from being interesting due to it involving Einstein’s doubts about widely accepted theories, it involves the origins of black holes, however brief. Tim Folger is one of the contributing editors to the Discover Magazine, and has written many articles for other magazines, such as National Geographic, OnEarth, and The New York Times.

Nadis, Steve. "Beyond THE Event Horizon." Discover 32.5 (2011): 29-37. Academic Search Premier. Web. 8 Dec. 2011.

This article is about Dr. Andrew Hamilton, a physicist, and his work on discovering what is inside of a black hole and beyond the event horizon, which is the point where nothing can return from. It talks about the computer model Hamilton created to see what the inside of a black hole could look like, as well as his discovery of the inner horizon. This article is recommended because it is a good introduction the event and inner horizon of a black hole and gets in depth with what the inside of a black hole may look like and effect particles(and people). Steve Nadis is a contributing editor of Astronomy magazine and has written multiple articles for other magazines, such as New Scientist, Atlantic Monthly, and Technology Review. He has written or added to over two dozen books and was a former staff researcher for the Union of Concerned Scientists and a consultant to the World Resources Institute. 

Overbye, Dennis. "Astronomers Find Biggest Black Holes Yet." The New York Times. The New York Times, 5 Dec. 2011. Web. 8 Dec. 2011. 

This article is about the biggest black holes astronomers have discovered to date, some 10 times the size of our galaxy. It lists a number of the biggest black holes as well as speculates as to how they may have been formed. This article is recommended because it is based on graduate students, of the University of California, research on black holes. Also, it lists specific black holes and explains how they are created and makes suggestions as to how they could have gotten so big. Dennis Overbye is a reporter for The New York Times. He graduated M.I.T. with a physics degree and was the deputy science editor, until he became a reporter in 2001. 


Pössel, Markus. Müller, Elke. "Einstien Online." Welcome to Einstein Online - Relativity and More! — Einstein Online. Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute), June 2010. Web. 09 Dec. 2011. <http://www.einstein-online.info/>.
This website was created by the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics(Albert Einstein Institute) and not only has information on the Theory of Relativity, but has a whole section on black holes. There is a section that gets into ‘the physics of black holes’, which include the different kinds of black holes, as well as the black hole in the center of the Milky Way. This website is recommended because it gets into many different aspects of black holes as well as more information on Einstein’s theories. Markus Pössel  is the creator of the website as well as “the director of the Center for Astronomy Education and Outreach at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg.” Elke Müller is the research coordinator at the Albert Einstein Institute and is in charge of organizing the website. There are many authors who contribute to the website many of which are scientists and professors of the Albert Einstein Institution and many other universities.

     

     "Black Holes." Imagine The Universe! Home Page. High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center, Dec. 2010. Web. 10 Dec. 2011. <http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l2/black_holes.html>.

This website discusses what black holes are, how we can tell where they are, information on x-ray binaries, and much more. This site is recommended because it is upheld by a team working for NASA. It has a FAQ regarding black holes that would be helpful for anyone researching them. This website was created by the Imagine Team, “a group of astronomers and programmers who work at NASA’s Goddard Flight Center”. 


Hamilton, Andrew. "Falling into a Black Hole." CASA. University of Colorado Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, 1997. Web. 10 Dec. 2011. <http://casa.colorado.edu/~ajsh/schw.shtml>.

This website shows a number of illustrations of what it would be like to fall into a black hole. It also has many illustrations on Schwarzschild Geometry, the collapse of a black hole, and Hawking Radiation, also known as the evaporation of a black hole. This website is recommended because it was created by Andrew Hamilton, who discovered the inner horizon of black holes. This website is easy to browse through and has many details regarding black holes that would help researchers. Andrew Hamilton is a professor in the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences at the University of Colorado. He has published many papers on black holes and various other subjects.

Smith, Heather R. "NASA - What Is a Black Hole?" NASA - Home. NASA Educational Technology Services, 30 Sept. 2008. Web. 10 Dec. 2011. <http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/what-is-a-black-hole-k4.html>.

This website explains the basics of black holes in terms that Kindergarten through Fourth Graders can understand. The website is recommended because black holes can get confusing, and sometimes it’s best to read them in terms that a kid would understand to help you understand the more complex ones. Heather Smith is a research associate at the NASA Ames Research Center and graduate student in biological engineering.  

Bunn, Ted. "BLACK HOLES." Berkeley Cosmology Group. Berkely Cosmology Group, Sept. 1995. Web. 10 Dec. 2011. <http://cosmology.berkeley.edu/Education/BHfaq.html>.

This website is a list of commonly asked questions and answers about black holes. While the parts with astronomical observations of black holes are a few years out of date, the theories remain the same, such as the Hawking’s theory of how black holes evaporate. This website is recommended because, the parts that aren’t out of date, are helpful in getting a basic understanding of black holes and how they work. Also, it has a list of books on black holes and other related topics at the end for anyone who wants to delve further into it. Ted Bunn works in the physics department at the University of Richmond as an associate professor. He has written many articles on cosmology and physics. He has a PhD in physics from the University of California.

Smith, Beverly. Black Holes. East Tennessee State University. n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2011. <http://www.etsu.edu/physics/bsmith/blackholes/bh.html>.

This website is a simple breakdown of black holes, what they are and how to find them. It makes mention of Cygnus X-1, a black hole in the Milky Way Galaxy, and X-ray radiation, one of the ways to find them. This website is recommended because, while it is fairly simple, this is an easy place to start when looking up information regarding black holes and it is upheld by a professor at the East Tennessee State University. Beverly Smith works as a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at East Tennessee State University and has published many astronomical papers.

Van Der Marel, Roeland. "HubbleSite: Black Holes: Gravity's Relentless Pull." HubbleSite - Out of the Ordinary...out of This World. Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2011. <http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/black_holes/home.html>.

This website is includes an encyclopedia that includes specific black holes as well as properties of a black hole. It also has a multimedia journey to the center of a black hole. This website is recommended because it has an abundance of information in the encyclopedia section and the multimedia presentation provides information about two black holes you can travel too as well as an entertaining experience for anyone from kids to adults. Roeland Van Der Marel is the Principal Investigator for the project and works for the Space Telescope Science Institute. He along with many other colleagues worked on Hubble Space Telescope observing projects for NASA in order to put this site together.

Benningfield, Damond, and Addison, Doug. "Black Hole Encyclopedia." StarDate's Black Hole Encyclopedia - The Latest Black Hole News and Details on the Best-known Individual Black Holes. StarDate. n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2011. <http://blackholes.stardate.org/>.

This website not only explains the basics of black holes, but has a list of many of the known black holes and what kind they are, has a history, recent news, and even a list of pop culture references to them. This website is recommended because it is part of StarDate magazine, which is part of The University of Texas McDonald Observatory, and is funded by NASA and the National Science Foundation. It has an assortment of information on black holes and presents it in a well-organized way. Benningfield is the man writer and producer for the site and Addison is the webmaster. The two work with other colleagues to uphold the site.

Johnston, Robert. "Black Holes." Johnston's Archive. Robert Johnston, 2001. Web. 10 Dec. 2011. <http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/relativity/blackhole.html>.

This website explains black holes, their nature, the types and where they came from, and has a list of many of the possible black holes. This site is recommended because it has an easy to access list of black holes with information on each, such as distance from earth, mass, and circumference. Johnston has a Ph.D. and M.S. in Physics as well as a B.A. in Astronomy.

Arcand, Kim K. Chandra X-ray Observatory - NASA's Flagship X-ray Telescope. Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2011. <http://chandra.harvard.edu/index.html>.

This website follows the Chandra X-ray Observatory as it orbits around the earth detecting x-ray emissions from ‘exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes.’ This website contains information on many cosmic bodies, including black holes, and has x-ray images taken by Chandra of said objects. This website is recommended because it was created for NASA by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Department and it has a lot of useful information on black holes, as well as quasars, which have supermassive black holes at their center. Arcand is the Media Production Coordinator of the website and oversees all of the multimedia projects for the Chandra program with the help of many colleagues.