[ELI5] So why does shrinking a thing far enough make it a black hole?

Question

I don’t really get how somthing that’s small makes it a black hole.

In: Physics

Answer 1

Gravitational force is proportionate to mass and inversely proportionate to distance from the center of gravity. The smaller an object is, the closer you can get to its center of gravity. So for a sufficiently small size to mass ratio, you can get close enough to the center of gravity that the gravitational force becomes too strong for light to escape, creating an event horizon (and thus, a black hole).