How black hole accretion disks turn gravity into radiation

Friction around a black hole can turn gravity into light

Gas falling toward a black hole usually circles it in a disk. Friction and other forces in the disk move spin outward and turn energy from the black hole's gravity into heat and radiation. This can power some of the brightest objects in the universe.

A urinal could become art

In 1917, Marcel Duchamp presented a urinal as the sculpture *Fountain*. The idea was that an ordinary object could count as art because it was presented and regarded as art, not because it had built-in artistic qualities.

The Chicxulub impact cooled Earth, then warmed it

Dust and sulfur aerosols from the impact caused cooling. The impact also vaporized carbonate rocks, releasing long-lived carbon dioxide. After the shorter-lived cooling gases dissipated, the carbon dioxide drove significant warming.

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How black hole accretion disks turn gravity into radiation

Friction around a black hole can turn gravity into light

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