Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

BLACK HOLES: A SUPERVILLAIN'S BEST FRIEND WITH PROFESSOR VEXINGTON VILEBRAIN

IT'S THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR- IT'S TIME TO TALK ABOUT BLACK HOLES. Even the name is enough to strike fear into the heart of the BRAVEST SUPERHERO. Black holes are famous for their ability to squash anything into complete NOTHINGNESS. AND I DO MEAN ANYTHING. A black hole will happily destroy your homework, but before you've had time to celebrate, it will have also gobbled up you (OH NO!), your pet, your best friend, your worst enemy, your house...

AND THE ENTIRE EARTH. And that's just for starters: Astronomers have even seen black holes ripping entire stars to smithereens. HERE'S AN IMPORTANT WARNING FOR THIS CHAPTER: BE CAREFUL AROUND BLACK HOLES. IF YOU ACCIDENTALLY CREATE A BLACK HOLE, PLEASE TELL A RESPONSIBLE GROWN-UP.

OKAY, ENOUGH OF THE SCARE TACTICS. LET'S GET DOWN TO THE SCIENCE. WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE? Black holes might sound complicated, but they are actually VERY SIMPLE. They are just TINY SPECKS that happen to weigh a lot. THAT'S IT! Woo HAHA! Although, being honest, the words "TINY" and "A LOT" don't even come close to explaining HOW STUPIDLY MINUSCULE- AND STUPIDLY HEAVY-BLACK HOLES ARE.

The LIGHTEST known black hole weighs MILLIONS OF TONS BUT IS MUCH SMALLER THAN AN ATOM. IMAGINE ME 1 BILLION X Smaller But what makes black holes SPECIAL isn't just how tiny and heavy they are: IT'S HOW AMAZINGLY STRONG THEIR GRAVITY IS. When something is VERY (VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY TINY and VERY (VERY... OKAY, YOU GET THE IDEA) HEAVY, its gravity becomes so strong that nothing in the Universe can escape it. The most powerful rocket ever built would have no chance.