| | [[Image:Iu8969hu.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Artist's conception of a binary system consisting of a black hole and a main sequence star. The black hole is drawing matter from the main sequence star via an [[accretion disk]] around it, and some of this matter forms a gas jet.]] | | [[Image:Iu8969hu.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Artist's conception of a binary system consisting of a black hole and a main sequence star. The black hole is drawing matter from the main sequence star via an [[accretion disk]] around it, and some of this matter forms a gas jet.]] |
| | A '''black hole''' is a theoretical prediction of the [[theory of relativity]], a region of [[spacetime]] into which light and other matter can enter, but out of which nothing can ever emerge. As with the related theoretical concept of a "[[wormhole]]",<ref>The prediction of the existence of wormholes, and its naming in 1957, predates the prediction and naming (1967) of a black hole.[http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/14/science/14wheeler.html?pagewanted=print]</ref> it is impossible to prove that no black hole exists anywhere, and thus it fails the [[falsifiability]] requirement of science. Nevertheless, black holes have become an increasingly popular topic for magazines, the science page of the [[New York Times]], and science fiction. | | A '''black hole''' is a theoretical prediction of the [[theory of relativity]], a region of [[spacetime]] into which light and other matter can enter, but out of which nothing can ever emerge. As with the related theoretical concept of a "[[wormhole]]",<ref>The prediction of the existence of wormholes, and its naming in 1957, predates the prediction and naming (1967) of a black hole.[http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/14/science/14wheeler.html?pagewanted=print]</ref> it is impossible to prove that no black hole exists anywhere, and thus it fails the [[falsifiability]] requirement of science. Nevertheless, black holes have become an increasingly popular topic for magazines, the science page of the [[New York Times]], and science fiction. |