If a black hole is truly black and has an escape velocity greater than the speed of light such that no light can escape it, where do the X-rays come from in the black hole candidates so far identified?

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Physics

Iliana Zuniga

29 November, 20:14

If a black hole is truly black and has an escape velocity greater than the speed of light such that no light can escape it, where do the X-rays come from in the black hole candidates so far identified?

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Griffin Bright · Answer 1

The X - rays are not emitted by the black hole itself but by the from hot gas orbiting around the black hole forming a disc known as accretion disk. When a black hole rips apart a star it attracts gases towards it. The pressure that is generated in the gas heats it up to millions of degrees thus emitting radiation among which x rays are also present which are detected by radio telescopes on the earth.