At some point in our lives, all of us have wanted time to slow down. We have wished to cherish the moment a bit longer, feel ecstasy for a bit longer. But we know that is not possible. Ever since the dawn of time, human beings have always understood that time is constant, that everybody has 24 hours in a day. Those who utilize those hours to the fullest, are successful; others perish. Time has always been considered to be the ultimate God. Another fascinating structure, out in the universe, is the black hole. An essence of mystery, curiosity and fear surrounds the word. It is known to be “impending doom” for anybody who gets too close. A black hole is a point of no escape.

As you approach a black hole, a brutal fate awaits you. Under such a strong gravitational force and a bend in spacetime, every atom in your body will be pulled and you will undergo “spaghettification”, which is exactly what it sounds like. For you, you will speed into the black hole and never be able to come back. However, here is the paradox. Each nanosecond for you, might be equal to several years for someone observing you at a distance. This is because, as you approach the black hole, your time slows down for a distant observer.

The event horizon is the boundary of the blackhole where we see a curved ray of light. From inside the event horizon, even photons cannot return, thus there is no way to observe what happens beyond the event horizon. The event horizon is the limit to what we know. As you approach the event horizon of the black hole, time further slows down such that for a distant observer, it becomes zero. Thus, paradoxically, while you are speeding into the black hole and undergoing spaghettification, for a distant observer, it will theoretically take you an infinite time to fall into the black hole! In simpler words, your time has slowed down to the extent that the distant observer will not be able to see you move in his entire lifetime. You’ll gradually fade for the observer watching you.

However, it is important to remember that time slows down only relative to a reference point. Irrespective of whether you are in space or on Earth, it will still take you five minutes to shave according to your watch. However, my five minutes might not be equal to your five minutes, because of a difference in our time frames. Gravitational time dilation is a complex concept, and black holes are even more, and in spite of trying my best, I will not be able to explain it all into words here. I do hope that I was able to introduce you to the concept. I also hope that the next time you wish for time to slow down, you smile at the fact that maybe for an observer in space who’s looking at you, it has indeed slowed down.

Please follow the below links for previous chapters :-

Chapter 1 - Revealing the secrets of Black Hole

Chapter 2 - Observational history of Black Holes

Chapter 3 - If falling into a Black Hole

Chapter 4 - Death by spaghettification of Black Hole

Chapter 5 - Mystery of Monster Black Holes

Chapter 6 - Crossing a wormhole : Reality Or Science fiction

Chapter 7 - Unveiling the Secrets of Biggest Black Hole