02. How do black holes form? (A K2S Question)

From The Space Library

Every star is in a constant battle to balance the force of gravity against the counter-forces produced within the core of the star by a process called nuclear fusion. Black holes represent the end of life of certain high mass stars whose core temperatures fail to counterbalance the crushing forces of gravity of the outer layers of the star. This leads to a catastrophic collapse of the star which compresses all the empty space inside an atom and forces the electrons and protons to form neutrons. The star then becomes a neutron star. But if it is above a certain mass, the collapse will continue until the crushing forces of gravity build up so much mass in a finite space that its gravity becomes so great that not even light can escape from its clutches. This results in a black hole.

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Answer provided by Jim Zebrowski

Question and Answer extracted from the book Kids to Space - by Lonnie Schorer

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