What is a black hole and how does it work?

A black hole is an astronomical object with an extremely strong gravitational field from which nothing, including light, can escape. It is formed from the remnants of a massive star that has collapsed under the force of its own gravity. The boundary around a black hole from which nothing can escape is known as the event horizon.

Black holes work by distorting spacetime and creating a gravitational field so strong that it warps the path of nearby matter, causing it to spiral inward towards the black hole's center, called the singularity. At the singularity, the gravitational force becomes infinite and the laws of physics as we know them break down.

The study of black holes and their properties is an important area of research in astrophysics and has helped scientists better understand the nature of gravity and the universe as a whole.