| The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002. |
| |
| black hole |
| |
| |
| In astronomy, an object so massive that nothing, not even light, can escape its gravitation. Black holes were given their name because they absorb all the light that falls on them. The existence of black holes was first predicted by the general theory of relativity. Supermassive black holes have been found in the centers of many galaxies. Stellar black holes are thought to arise from the death of very massive stars. Astronomers expect to find many stellar black holes in the Milky Way. | 1 |
| ‡ Figuratively, the term black hole is used to refer to a total disappearance: “They never saw the man again—he might as well have fallen into a black hole.” | 2 |
| |
| | | The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
|
|
