Introduction to Black Holes - Frontiers in Astrophysics

Dive into the fascinating world of black holes and relativity in this 44-minute lecture from Yale University's Frontiers/Controversies in Astrophysics course. Explore the definition of black holes, methods for detecting their existence, and understand why Einstein's Theory of Relativity is crucial for their study. Learn about escape and circular velocity concepts, with practical calculations included. Trace the historical development of our understanding of black holes within the context of stellar evolution. Examine topics such as the Schwarzschild radius, gravity and pressure in star evolution, electron degeneracy pressure, the Chandrasekhar limit, and neutron stars. Gain valuable insights into astrophysics and expand your knowledge of these mysterious cosmic phenomena.

- Chapter 1. Introduction
.
- Chapter 2. Escape Velocity
.
- Chapter 3. Defining Black Holes and the Schwarzschild Radius
.
- Chapter 4. Gravity and Pressure in the Evolution of Stars
.
- Chapter 5. From Electron Degeneracy Pressure to the Chandrasekhar Limit
.
- Chapter 6. Neutron Stars
.
- Chapter 7. Conclusion
.