Question: Are the supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies involved in the formation of those galaxies? (Submitted by Andy Speight)
Michio Kaku: Well Andy, you ask a very touchy subject. What came first, the chicken or the egg, the galaxy or the black hole? We still don’t know. First of all, if you want to see the black hole at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy go out tonight and look in the direction of Sagittarius. That is where we have a super-massive black hole at the very center or our own backyard, the Milky Way galaxy. It weighs two to three million times the mass of our sun.
Now the latest theory about which came first is the following: First, we think that out of the big bang came dark matter, invisible matter. If I held dark matter in my hand it would literally ooze its way right through my fingers, go right to the center of the earth, go to China and then go back and forth between China and my hand. That is dark matter. We think that dark matter begins to clump first because of gravity, then matter was attracted to the clumpiness creating the super-massive black hole and then later the galaxy itself began to form. We have computer simulations about this, but still the relationship is not yet clear.
Now remember, stars—we know almost everything about stellar evolution. That is because the Pentagon has given us physicists billions of dollars to model hydrogen bombs and a star is nothing but a hydrogen bomb. However, a galaxy consists of over a hundred billion stars, so it’s much more difficult to tell which came first, the black hole or the galaxy itself.
At the heart of every galaxy like our own Milky Way lies a supermassive black hole, but scientists are unsure which develops first.
LinkedIn meets Tinder in this mindful networking app
Swipe right to make the connections that could change your career.
Swipe right. Match. Meet over coffee or set up a call.
No, we aren't talking about Tinder. Introducing Shapr, a free app that helps people with synergistic professional goals and skill sets easily meet and collaborate.
The dos and don’ts of helping a drug-addicted person recover
How you talk to people with drug addiction might save their life.
- Addiction is a learning disorder; it's not a sign that someone is a bad person.
- Tough love doesn't help drug-addicted people. Research shows that the best way to get people help is through compassion, empathy and support. Approach them as an equal human being deserving of respect.
- As a first step to recovery, Maia Szalavitz recommends the family or friends of people with addiction get them a complete psychiatric evaluation by somebody who is not affiliated with any treatment organization. Unfortunately, warns Szalavitz, some people will try to make a profit off of an addicted person without informing them of their full options.
10 science photos that made history and changed minds
These photos of scientific heroes and accomplishments inspire awe and curiosity.
- Science has given humanity an incalculable boost over the recent centuries, changing our lives in ways both awe-inspiring and humbling.
- Fortunately, photography, a scientific feat in and of itself, has recorded some of the most important events, people and discoveries in science, allowing us unprecedented insight and expanding our view of the world.
- Here are some of the most important scientific photos of history:
In a first for humankind, China successfully sprouts a seed on the Moon
China's Chang'e 4 biosphere experiment marks a first for humankind.
- China's Chang'e 4 lunar lander touched down on the far side of the moon on January 3.
- In addition to a lunar rover, the lander carried a biosphere experiment that contains five sets of plants and some insects.
- The experiment is designed to test how astronauts might someday grow plants in space to sustain long-term settlements.
SMARTER FASTER trademarks owned by The Big Think, Inc. All rights reserved.