Black hole size

They know the rough diameter of a neutron star, but does anyone know the actual diameter of a black hole? I'm not talking about the diameter of the event horizon, but the actual diameter of the solid mass, assuming there is a real mass and not some warp hole.

@bunnyknight said
They know the rough diameter of a neutron star, but does anyone know the actual diameter of a black hole? I'm not talking about the diameter of the event horizon, but the actual diameter of the solid mass, assuming there is a real mass and not some warp hole.

Of the order of a Planck length.

Black holes are lots of different sizes

@ogb said
Black holes are lots of different sizes

No.

Black holes have different masses, and it's this mass that determines the event horizon, but all black holes (the actual business size of all that mass) are singularities. That's the theory, anyways. Rotating black holes were thought to be ring singularities at one time, giving rise to theories including dimensional portals. Not sure what the current thinking on this is.

@Suzianne
I think they realize there is no singularity in the sense of an infinite density. It has to stop getting denser at some point. For instance you probably heard the bit about mother universes, daughter universes where a universe has this black hole which looks just like a black hole to an observer but where it really spits into a new universe with very similar laws of physics, like the speed of light being 200,000 miles per second or so or 100,000 in that newly spawned universe. That kind of thing would not happen if the density was truly infinite as we would suppose a singularity would represent.

So singularity just means 'unknown physics ATT'

@suzianne said
No.

Black holes have different masses, and it's this mass that determines the event horizon,

but that is what is generally meant by different "sizes" of black holes.

@humy
So basically my assumption is correct - that nobody really knows for sure if a black hole is an actual solid mass (of quarks perhaps) with a certain diameter, or not.

Thus the only way to get to the truth of the matter is for me to fly to one, dive under the event horizon, and feel the black hole surface with my own fingers.

@bunnyknight said
@humy
So basically my assumption is correct - that nobody really knows for sure if a black hole is an actual solid mass (of quarks perhaps) with a certain diameter, or not.

Thus the only way to get to the truth of the matter is for me to fly to one, dive under the event horizon, and feel the black hole surface with my own fingers.

Did you ever read the gateway novels by Frederick Pohl?

There is an interesting concept on the research into black holes (though not at the forefront of todays theories).

@ponderable said
Did you ever read the gateway novels by Frederick Pohl?

There is an interesting concept on the research into black holes (though not at the forefront of todays theories).

Never read it --- but I just put it on my to-read list.

I realize there's a whole bunch of theories about black holes, but that doesn't help me because only the factual truth will satisfy my curiosity now. I think a black hole could be just a simple blob of squished quarks ... or ... something so strange that no one has yet imagined. I will not rest until I find out!

@bunnyknight said
Never read it --- but I just put it on my to-read list.

I realize there's a whole bunch of theories about black holes, but that doesn't help me because only the factual truth will satisfy my curiosity now. I think a black hole could be just a simple blob of squished quarks ... or ... something so strange that no one has yet imagined. I will not rest until I find out!

Since we will never know what is in the center of a black hole, you will never be satisfied.

@eladar said
Since we will never know what is in the center of a black hole, you will never be satisfied.

"Never" is a very strong word -- also very big -- as big or bigger than infinity.

As soon as someone invents a gravity-neutralizing field, much of the impossible will become possible.

@bunnyknight said
"Never" is a very strong word -- also very big -- as big or bigger than infinity.

As soon as someone invents a gravity-neutralizing field, much of the impossible will become possible.

Gravity neutralizing machine? They have one, it is called going on a diet.

@eladar said
Gravity neutralizing machine? They have one, it is called going on a diet.

Haha! That was so funny I nearly slipped and fell into a black hole.

@ponderable said
Did you ever read the gateway novels by Frederick Pohl?

There is an interesting concept on the research into black holes (though not at the forefront of todays theories).

Yes, the Gateway novels are awesome.

@eladar said
Since we will never know what is in the center of a black hole, you will never be satisfied.

When you and other conservatives, like Trump, say "We don't know, we just don't know", what they mean is I don't know. Plenty of people know. Just not you.