Before coming to class I was looking forward to this lecture because the topic of black holes interests me. Dr. Mathur was very insightful and had a strong interest for his field and the continual progression of the study. I really liked finding out about the horizon of the black hole where it is almost a point of no return. The horizon contains no energy because it is equaled out and the closer you are towards the center, the potential energy drops until there is negative energy. I did not enjoy the topic of how entering a black hole would not just kill or crush you but tear every individual part of you. It just made me think of how many people had to experience that until it was a known fact. Saying that you died from a black hole sounds like a very unique way to go but it would immensely painful and could have been prevented. I also liked Dr. Mathur’s explanation of how in science and the world, everything is sought to be explained but black holes are an exception. Energy is not created or destroyed, just transferred. Once a black hole evaporates, information just disappears without explanation. Also, knowing we only know 5% of what is out there is more terrifying that knowing we only know about 10% of the depths of our ocean. I wonder how much more of either will be discovered before the big crunch wipes the slate and possibly reboots the world.
I enjoyed your post and lol when you wrote about rebooting the world. Like you I also do not like the thought of dying in a black hole and having all information wiped away. I guess you would still be remembered by those outside the black hole if that is any consequence.