Pauli Exclusion Principle and Black Holes

[whoshotdk]

Hi,

 

I'm a real armchair scientist and my scientific knowledge is based largely on fervent web searches / books / TV shows rather than proper education, so forgive me if the following is completely absurd!

 

I've been attempting to learn about subatomic particles, specifically how the Pauli Exclusion Principle affects them. From what I've read, fermions with the exact same attributes cannot occupy the same space at the same time. So, how does this work with black holes?

 

Could it be that the gravitational forces are so great that time becomes infinite within the event horizon, thus allowing all particles to occupy a single subatomic 'space'? Or could the fermions be somehow converted into bosons, perhaps by having their spin altered?

 

I feel that the fact that the Paul Exclusion Principle seems to apply only most of the time is a bit messy in my very humble opinion.

 

Dave

[Spyman]

First off, the Event Horizon have a radius so there is volume inside it with enough room for particles, theoretically there can be huge supermassive Black Holes with less density than air.

 

Secondly, a Singularity at the center of Black Holes is likely only a limit of were General Relativity breaks down and a quantum gravity theory is needed, there might not be a Singularity there.

 

Third and last, according to General Relativity energy also warps spacetime, so a Black Hole could consist solely of trapped photons, since photons are bosons they are excluded from the Pauli Exclusion Principle. So I think yes, it could be possible that some still unknown process converts matter entering Black Holes.

Edited January 10, 2011 by Spyman

[swansont]

The Pauli Exclusion Principle applied to a bunch of electrons gives rise to what is called "degeneracy pressure." That is, the inability to be in the same state manifests itself as a force — if you try and put them in the same state, it is as if the system had a pressure and you have to do work to compress your electrons into the same state. But the gravity of a black hole is greater than this resistive force.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_degeneracy_pressure