Black Holes
Laplace also came close to propounding the concept of the black hole. He pointed out that there could be massive stars whose gravity is so great that not even light could escape from their surface (see escape velocity). Laplace also speculated that some of the nebulae revealed by telescopes might not be part of the Milky Way but rather galaxies themselves. Thus, he anticipated Edwin Hubble's major discovery 100 years in advance.
Read more about this topic: Pierre-Simon Laplace
Famous quotes containing the words black and/or holes:
“What we call little things are merely the causes of great things; they are the beginning, the embryo, and it is the point of departure which, generally speaking, decides the whole future of an existence. One single black speck may be the beginning of a gangrene, of a storm, of a revolution.”
—Henri-Frédéric Amiel (1821–1881)
“But Father John went up,
And Father John went down;
And he wore small holes in his shoes,
And he wore large holes in his gown.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)