Falling in a Black Hole – Here’s What Happens

Testing Spaghettification

To improve your work, projects and ideas you need to share them.

In the world of physics, this is happening today as physicists debate spaghettification (what happens to you when you fall in a black hole). Physicists are proposing new theories that they sometimes don’t even believe themselves. By sharing their research however, the entire field is moving closer to a complete understanding of black holes.

Your work may be less esoteric than spaghettification. However, the lesson remains the same: share your ideas. Only then can others improve upon your work and help you improve upon your skills.

Falling in a Black Hole

Next time you’re cruising around the universe, keep your eyes peeled for the black ice of space: black holes.

Black holes are regions of space so dense that nothing, not even light can escape.

What’s creepy about imagining these black holes is that you wouldn’t even know you were getting sucked into one. As physicist Leonard Susskind noted to NPR, “It’s kind of like you’re rowing on Niagra Falls and pass the point [where] you can’t row fast enough to escape the current.” You’re doomed and you don’t even know it.

What happens as you get sucked into the black hole? The gravity starts pulling you. If your feet are first, it stretches your body, pulling your feet faster than your head. As physicist Joe Polchinski notes, “It’s kind of medieval. It’d be like something on Game of Thrones.”

This act of changing to Gumby actually has a scientific term, one of my favorites: spaghettification.

Rearranging Atoms

The dominant theory of physics – quantum mechanics – has one essential rule: stuff can’t disappear. Put more scientifically, if you fall into a black hole your atoms would be rearranged, but they should all still be there.

In Einstein’s version of black holes, spaghettification was the end. You get stretched into spaghetti and your remains stay there for eternity. Thus all the atoms remain.

In the 1970′s however, Stephen Hawking came along and proved that according to quantum mechanics, a black hole evaporates very slowly and eventually vanishes.

This theory causes major problems. If black holes can violate the fundamental principle of physics, then everything is uncertain.

Hitting the End of the Universe

In recent years physicists went back to Hawking’s research to try to make it jive with quantum physics. Theorist Juan Maldacena seemed to prove that Hawking was wrong and that the information gets out of the black hole, but nobody knew how.

Enter Polchinski who argued that anything that falls into a black hole is instantly vaporized in a fiery storm of quantum particles. All the information in your atoms are re-radiated in a quantum physics fire so the fundamental law is preserved.

As he describes it: When you fall into a black hole, you smack into the end of the universe.

Throwing Spaghettification at the Wall, Seeing If It Sticks

Even Polchinski thinks his own idea is wrong. But, it’s the best idea out there.

That’s why he and his colleagues shared it.

Now other researchers are looking at their work and trying to find what’s wrong with it, so they can improve upon the theory.

In art and science this is how progress happens. Someone creates an idea, others then run with that idea and modify it, test it, play with it and ultimately create something amazing on top of the foundation that was provided for them.

In the world of marketing, community-building and business, we need to think the same way. What is our big idea that we can share with the world? What is our project that we can start and let others build upon?

Often we become possessive of our ideas. If we put all the thought and effort into creating something, we want to be the ones to own it.

The most powerful ideas and projects however are passed off so others can modify and improve upon them. In his book Startup Communities, Brad Feld notes that this is one of the most important features of a vibrant and growing startup community: the ability to create an idea and hand it off to someone else to develop.

Be the Foundation

You cannot and should not build your business or community alone.

Instead, be the stonemason creating the foundation upon which everything is built. Create an idea and find someone to run with it. Formulate a new marketing strategy, and hand it off for feedback and criticism. Launch a new community event, and invite others to host the same event wherever they are.

Sharing and involving others will help you lighten your load and help others spread your big idea.

Spaghettification can’t be explained by Einstein alone. Similarly, making your dent in the universe demands help. Don’t be afraid to share and ask for it.

Thanks for reading this post!

If you want to start spreading your own idea, we welcome you to attend TEDxBrookings on February 21st. This is the perfect place to share your idea and get help changing your community! Just click the link to learn more.