Chandra X-ray Observatory - HomeAbout The ChandraEducational MaterialsField GuidePhoto AlbumPress RoomResources
Chandra X-ray Observatory - HomeChandra Resources - You are here
ObservatoryMultimediaImages and IllustrationsAnimations and VideoChandra Special FeaturesChandra PodcastsPresentationsVirtual PostcardsHandouts and ActivitiesDesktop ImagesScreen SaversAudioQ&AGlossaryAcronym GuideFurther Reading
Web Site ToolsVisit the Chandra ChroniclesEmail NewsletterSite MapNew & NoteworthyImage Use PolicyQuestions & AnswersGlossaryDownload Guide

Q&A: Black Holes



Q:

A magnetic field is produced by a circulating charge, so if the net charge is zero a black hole should not have any magnetic field, so how could a a black hole have a magnetic field to produce the jets seen rushing away from them?



A:

Although it is possible though not believed likely, that a black hole could be charged, they are not expected to have a magnetic field. The magnetic fields around a black holes that are thought to produce the spectacular jets of high-energy particles rushing away from black holes come from the disk of hot gas around the black hole, not the black hole itself.




Back | Index | Next
separator line
CXC Home | Search | Help | Site Map | Image Use Policy | Privacy & Accessibility | Downloads & Plugins
Latest Images | New & Noteworthy | Multimedia | Flash Ecards | Glossary | Q&A | Guestbook


RSS Feed RSS Feed | Podcast Podcast | Blog Blog

[News by email: Chandra Digest]
[Contact us: cxcpub@cfa.harvard.edu]
NASA's Home Page Smithsonian's Home Page CXC Home Page Image Map for NASA's, Smithsonian and Chandra's Home Pages
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
Phone: 617.496.7941 Fax: 617.495.7356


Text Size:
normal font large font larger font
Chandra X-ray Center, Operated for NASA by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
This site was developed with funding from NASA under Contract NAS8-03060.
Revised: August 02, 2005