Our universe contains many black holes. Black holes are most likely to arise from the death of
A.
Sunlike stars.
B.
neutron stars.
C.
massive stars.
D.
white dwarfs.
C. massive stars.
C. Massive stars.
Black holes are most likely to arise from the death of massive stars. When a massive star runs out of fuel, it undergoes a supernova explosion, and the core of the star collapses under its own gravity. If the core's mass is above a certain threshold, known as the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff (TOV) limit, it will continue collapsing, forming a black hole. This happens because the gravitational force becomes so strong that nothing can escape from it, not even light. Therefore, the death of massive stars is the most common process that leads to the formation of black holes.
To determine the correct answer to this question, we need to examine the formation of black holes. Black holes are formed from the death of massive stars, so the correct answer is C - massive stars.
When a massive star nears the end of its life, it undergoes a supernova explosion. During this explosion, the outer layers of the star are ejected into space, while the core collapses inward due to gravitational forces. If the core of the collapsed star is between about 3 and 20 times the mass of our Sun, it will become a black hole.
This collapse is so powerful that it generates a gravitational field from which nothing can escape, including light. This is why black holes appear black because no light can reflect off or escape from them.
Neutron stars, option B, are also remnants of massive stars but have a different fate. They are incredibly dense and made up of tightly packed neutrons. While neutron stars can be incredibly strong sources of radiation, they do not typically evolve into black holes.
Sunlike stars, option A, have masses similar to our Sun and do not have enough mass to undergo a supernova and form a black hole.
White dwarfs, option D, are the remnants of low to medium-mass stars after they exhaust their nuclear fuel. While they are very dense, they also do not have enough mass to undergo a supernova and form a black hole.
Therefore, the most likely source of black holes is the death of massive stars, making option C the correct answer.