A 9-minute journey inside a black hole | Janna Levin

One day we might fall into a black hole. Here’s what we can expect, according to physicist Janna Levin. This interview is an episode from @The-Well, our publication about ideas that inspire a life well-lived, created with the @JohnTempletonFoundation. Subscribe to The Well on YouTube ► Watch Janna Levin’s next interview ► Black holes should be thought of as “empty places“ rather than “dense objects.“ While they are indeed formed from incredibly dense objects (collapsed stars), the black hole itself is nothing. Black holes could have played a crucial role in the emergence of life. Ironically, the Solar System is in orbit around a supermassive black hole located in the center of our Milky Way galaxy. And one day, we might fall into a black hole. If you were out in space exploring and you didn’t realize you were coming upon a black hole, you would not notice that anything terrible was about to happen. Eventually, however, you would succumb to a terrifying fate. Read the video transcript ► ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Janna Levin: Janna Levin is a professor of physics and astronomy at Barnard College of Columbia University. She is also director of sciences at Pioneer Works, a center for arts and sciences in Brooklyn, and has contributed to an understanding of black holes, the cosmology of extra dimensions, and gravitational waves in the shape of spacetime. Her previous books include How the Universe Got Its Spots and a novel, A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines, which won the PEN/Bingham Prize. She was recently named a Guggenheim fellow. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Read more from The Well: Few of us desire true equality. It’s time to own up to it ► The case for “dusking”: In a world of light and noise, embracing the dark can be healing ► Respect alchemy. The crazy, criminal pursuit gave us modern science ► ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About The Well Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional? There are no simple answers to life’s biggest questions, and that’s why they’re the questions occupying the world’s brightest minds. Together, let’s learn from them. Subscribe to the weekly newsletter ► ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join The Well on your favorite platforms: ► Facebook: ► Instagram: