Originally Posted by
SteveB
Matter does not disappear into nothing.
But all matter has mass.
And mass has gravity.
The more mass, the more gravity.
The more gravity the more matter (and mass) is pulled in. And so on until there is so much gravity that nothing can escape that gravity, not even light. So the area around is a “back hole” because no light leaves it so it can’t be seen.
It can only be observed by the disturbance caused by the gravity on its surrounding area.
this is the newtonian verison of gravity. the relativistic version is that matter warps the fabric of spacetime. a star thus is not pulling a planet into orbit, but rather the star has warped the fabric of spacetime around the planet and this space time pushes the planet into orbit
"The mass of men live lives of quiet desperation" - Henry David Thoreau.