eli5: Why does light go into black holes?

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If light has no mass why does it get sucked into black holes?

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7 Answers

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While light does not have a mass, it is still a particle of matter so it can still be pulled into the black hole. The point of no return is what is known as the event horizon. Once something passes the event horizon, it can no longer escape. The size of the event horizon is determined by what is know as the Schwarzchild radius of the black hole. This is why you could survive crossing the event horizon of a supermassive blackhole (millions of solar masses) However you could not survive crossing the event horizon of a stellar mass black hole. The tidal forces at the event horizon of a stellar mass black hole are much stronger due to the event horizon being closer to the singularity, or the “center point”, of the black hole. Also, black holes (or any other massive object) bends space-time around it. This effect is the primary mechanism of Gravitational Lensing, which allows you to see what is on the other side of the black hole, albeit an incredibly warped picture of it

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