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’.