Windy black holes
Stories from Physics
for 11-14
14-16
Scientists have observed incredibly strong ‘winds’ emanating from black holes. The ultra-fast outflows are emitted from the accretion disc of material that orbits a black hole and have been measured to reach velocities of up to a quarter of the speed of light. The flows absorb X-rays emitted from the black hole and are heated to millions of degrees.
References
Windy black holes
M. L. Parker, C. Pinto, A. C. Fabian, A. Lohfink, D. J. Buisson, W. N. Alston, … & B. De Marco, The response of relativistic outflowing gas to the inner accretion disk of a black hole, Nature, vol. 543, no. 7643, 2017, pp. 83-86