Schwarzschild Metric

Schwarzschild Metric

In Einstein's theory of general relativity, the Schwarzschild solution (or the Schwarzschild vacuum), named after Karl Schwarzschild, describes the gravitational field outside a spherical, uncharged, non-rotating mass such as a (non-rotating) star, planet, or black hole. It is also a good approximation to the gravitational field of a slowly rotating body like the Earth or Sun. The cosmological constant is assumed to equal zero.

According to Birkhoff's theorem, the Schwarzschild solution is the most general spherically symmetric, vacuum solution of the Einstein field equations. A Schwarzschild black hole or static black hole is a black hole that has no charge or angular momentum. A Schwarzschild black hole has a Schwarzschild metric, and cannot be distinguished from any other Schwarzschild black hole except by its mass.

The Schwarzschild black hole is characterized by a surrounding spherical surface, called the event horizon, which is situated at the Schwarzschild radius, often called the radius of a black hole. Any non-rotating and non-charged mass that is smaller than its Schwarzschild radius forms a black hole. The solution of the Einstein field equations is valid for any mass M, so in principle (according to general relativity theory) a Schwarzschild black hole of any mass could exist if conditions became sufficiently favorable to allow for its formation.

Read more about Schwarzschild Metric:  The Schwarzschild Metric, History, Singularities and Black Holes, Alternative (isotropic) Formulations of The Schwarzschild Metric, Flamm's Paraboloid, Orbital Motion, Symmetries, Quotes