[azhenfud]

Black holes are collapsed stars with gravity so strong that nothing – not even light – can escape once it has fallen past the black hole’s “event horizon.” Scientists believe most galaxies, including ours, host supermassive black holes, which contain the mass of up to a few billion stars like our sun.

When matter is sucked into supermassive black holes, the process also spews out various particles and electromagnetic radiation, from gamma and X-rays to ultraviolet, visible and infrared light, and radio waves.

Does anyone else see a primitive flaw in this theory? If "nothing - not even light" can escape, how then does the radiation escape? I am too simple to understand.

[6ppc]

Bad writing. As matter crosses the event horizon it is torn apart and some of it escapes...in other words the particles that escape never actually made it into the black hole.

[DBrow]

“how then does the radiation escape?”

The radiation comes from the accretion disk or jet, if it has a jet. Magnetic fields then accelerate the particles. The disk is outside the event horizon. I think, but am not too clear, that particles can slingshot close to the EH and pick up lots of energy, like we do with space probes slingshotting Venus to get to Jupiter.

More particles come from the event horizon itself as virtual pairs are made from the vacuum fluctuations- normally these appear and disappear, but at the EH, one particle gets trapped and the other is freed.

[SlowBoat407]

If "nothing - not even light" can escape, how then does the radiation escape?

The radiation does not "escape". It is generated by the acceleration of matter and energy as it spins closers and closer to the event horizon.

[LibWhacker]

You're right, once something falls beyond the event horizon, it can't get out. It's gone past the point of no return.

BUT... before it gets to that point, it can get thrown out and away from the black hole, if it's given a shot of energy that's great enough. There are few places, if any, in the universe more violent than the inner accretion disk of a supermassive black hole!

[RightWhale]

how then does the radiation escape

That comes from material that is being sucked into the black hole but has not yet entered the black hole.

[piytar]

Does anyone else see a primitive flaw in this theory? If "nothing - not even light" can escape, how then does the radiation escape? I am too simple to understand.

The energy comes from material falling into the black hole before it reaches the event horizon. Basically, a ton of stuff bashes together as it falls into the black hole, releasing a huge amount of energy on the way in. At least that accounts for the massive X-rays from black holes. Cosmic rays are MUCH more energetic, and the scientists don't understand (yet) how they get that much energy.

Actually, a newer theory says that nothing ever actually crosses the event horizon due to time dialation caused by the massive gravitational forces. Maybe there is some connection? Time dialation affecting the release of energy? Dunno, but sure MUCH smarter minds than mine are working on that angle.