Is there any limitation to what a black hole can "suck" in?

hi i am a student in high school. is there any limitation to what a black hole can suck in material?

A black hole can only accrete material ("suck it in" in your words) if it is able to pass the event horizon. Matter that is in orbit about a black hole needs to lose angular momentum before it can fall in, otherwise it just continues to orbit the black hole. In the real universe, black holes which are accreting matter have what are called accretion disks around them. The matter in these disks slowly spirals in to the black hole, and it becomes very hot as it does so we can see the disks glow (usually in X-rays).

The common conception of a black hole being like a vacuum cleaner "sucking" in any matter that comes anywhere near it is therefore not exactly true. This article on what would happen if the Sun suddenly changed into a black hole (which is not likely to happen) might help you to understand this better.

June 2002, Karen Masters (more by Karen Masters) (Like this Answer)

Still Curious?

Get More 'Curious?' with Our New PODCAST:

Related questions:

More questions about Black Holes and Quasars: Previous | Next

How to ask a question:

If you have a follow-up question concerning the above subject, submit it here. If you have a question about another area of astronomy, find the topic you're interested in from the archive on our site menu, or go here for help.

URL: http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=139
This page has been accessed 28568 times since July 10, 2002.
Last modified: October 22, 2002 10:01:32 AM

Legal questions? See our copyright, disclaimer and privacy policy.
Ask an Astronomer is hosted by the Astronomy Department at Cornell University and is produced with PHP and MySQL.