Brian Cox: What are Black Holes? | Physics - Wonders of the Universe

Suitable for teaching 11-16s. Professor Brian Cox explains what black holes are, and how we know about them despite the fact that they’re invisible. Subscribe for more Physics clips from BBC Teach on Wednesdays when we have them in: http://bit.ly/BBCSubscribeTeach If you found this video helpful, give it a like. Share it with someone. Add the video to your own teaching playlists. Create an account, subscribe to the channel and create playlists for different age groups, sets and syllabuses. ===================== Professor Brian Cox explains what black holes are, and how we know about them despite the fact that they’re invisible. Black holes are the most destructive forces in the universe, and can swallow whole stars. We know they exist because of the effect they have on the surrounding space. Brian uses Zambia’s spectacular Victoria Falls as an analogy to explain what happens as matter draws closer to a black hole’s event horizon. Space flows faster and faster, as matter approaches, until the point that even light can no longer escape. This clip is from Wonders of the Universe, a series of short films for BBC 2 and BBC 2 Learning Zone where Professor Brian Cox witnesses some of the most breathtaking environments on Earth and reveals how the most fundamental scientific principles and laws explain not only the story of the universe, but the story of us all. For more clips from Stars and Galaxies: http://bit.ly/TeachStars For our Physics playlist: http://bit.ly/BBCTeachPhysics For Class Clips users, the original reference for the clip was p011m3nh. ===================== Teaching Physics? Students could extend the information in this clip to include the complete life cycle of stars. They could draw a cartoon strip to show how a nebula forms a protostar as a result of gravity. Then how the size of star determines how long the main sequence lasts for, and ultimately whether a supernova, black hole, black dwarf or white dwarf are formed. Can students find out the future of our own star? This topic will be relevant to GCSE Physics in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and National 4 and 5 in Scotland. ===================== For more clips from other subjects at the BBC Teach YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/bbcteach More from BBC Learning Zone: http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone More resources from BBC Bitesize: http://www.bbc.co.uk/education ===================== Subscribe to create your own customised playlists, and get notified about our latest clips. As we have them, new videos will be uploaded on the following days: Mondays: Biology, Computer Science, Music, Religious Studies Tuesdays: Drama and Performance, English Language, Maths, Physical Education Wednesdays: Languages, Media Studies, Modern Studies and PSHE, Physics Thursdays: Art and Design, Chemistry, Geography, History Fridays: Business Studies, Design and Technology, English Literature