Singularity
Singularity
General relativity states that there is no absolute
time as every observer has its own time of reference depending on the curvature
of space-time. Earlier it was considered that light has no effect on light as
it shows only wave nature. Practically it is not true as it has been found by
observation of solar eclipse that light bends towards the center of a nearby
mass when it passes by. This showed that light contains mass-less particles, which
was later explained by quantum mechanics. Bending of light towards the center
also explained the existence of black holes. According to general relativity
space-time is nearly flat and infinite and any particle with mass makes a curve
in the space-time causing the time to bend, this makes the time slower. This is
a daily phenomenon which we don’t notice because we encounter small masses,
hence the difference is minimal. In case of massive celestial bodies, this
effect is remarkable. When the mass of an object is comparable to that of black
hole, it collapses in its own gravity and shrinks. The space-time of such a
massive body is infinitely curved and time doesn’t pass near the center of the
black hole. This assumption has been made by the fact that mass-less light
particles which moves faster than anything in the universe are unable to escape
the black hole. Since light is mass-less, it can’t be said that black hole
attracts light. The possible answer for this is that space-time is indefinitely
curved by the black hole and everything becomes independent of time or we may
say that time stops and everything stops near a black hole. Thus for a distant
observer everything has been trapped near the black hole including light.
The condition stated above is an example of space-time
singularity as time and space lose their significance and general relativity no
longer explains anything in the region. Another example of singularity is Big
Bang if it is considered the beginning of the universe. According to Big Bang
theory, whole mass of the universe was concentrated at a very small point and a
massive explosion occurred and all the mass was thrown out. If this is
considered true then a question arises, “What was before Big Bang?” If it is
said that there was no time before Big Bang then another question arises, “What
made the universe to shrink in a small volume?”
Spiritual answers at this point are not fit for a science student hence
there is a need of a theory which can explain these events. Singularity
indicates that the theories proposed till now are not perfect and there is a
need of another theory that explains these things in a better way so that there
are no singularities.
Though scientists are busy in finding more precise
answers to predict the events precisely but Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle
states that nature itself conceal its rules by with counter conditions and
hence it is impossible to measure anything with infinite precision and an error
is must in observation however precise our experiment be. Max plank even
calculated a constant number called Planks
Constant which is the product of the three unavoidable errors if experiment
is carried out perfectly from all standards. This states that an indefinitely
accurate theory with no singularity can never be found.
The article is inspired from a chapter in Stephen
Hawkins’s book ‘A briefer History of Time’.
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