Make Your Own Black Hole

Space is mysterious. Only God knows  everything that happens there and  why. Scientists have spent hundreds  of years studying God’s work in  space—and they’ve learned a thing  or two about black holes.  Let’s follow in their footsteps.  Since we can’t visit a black  hole, let’s make one of our own. 

You’ll need:  • a balloon • a thumb tack   (for popping    the balloon!) • aluminum foil Let’s go!

1. Blow up your balloon. Make it as close to spherical as you can. Tie it.

2. Wrap your balloon in layers of aluminum foil. This wrapped-up balloon is your star. The foil is the star’s gas layers. The balloon is the star’s burning core.

3. Lightly squeeze your “star” (the wrapped balloon). Does it pop? Nope. Similarly, gravity cannot make a star collapse.

4. Pop the balloon with a pin. This shows what happens when a star reaches the end of its life. Its core runs out of fuel. It can no longer hold up its gas layers.

5. Now squeeze your “star” again. Does it collapse? Can you roll your aluminum foil into a ball? This is sort of how a black hole forms. It has the same mass as the star. But what about the size? It’s now much smaller.

• This experiment has one problem. In real life, a black hole is much smaller than  the original star. The experiment would be  more accurate if the rolled-up foil ended  up tinier than a pencil tip.

Think about this: 

• The more gas, the more mass. If  you added more foil to your balloon,  it would make a heavier ball  (“black hole”).