Is It IMPOSSIBLE To Cross The Event Horizon? | Black Hole Firewall Paradox

Is It IMPOSSIBLE To Cross The Event Horizon? | Black Hole Firewall Paradox

From PBS Space Time by PBS

April 27, 2026 · 25 min

About this episode

The episode explores the paradox of black holes and the concept of firewalls that may prevent anything from crossing the event horizon.

Check out the Space Time Merch Store https://www.pbsspacetime.com/shop Sign Up on Patreon to get access to the Space Time Discord! https://www.patreon.com/pbsspacetime So you’ve decided to jump into a black hole. Good news: as long as the black hole is big enough you can sail through the event horizon without harm and get to experience the interior of the black hole before you’re annihilated by the central singularity. Or so we once thought. These days, quite a few physicists believe that the only way to avoid horrible contradictions in fundamental physics generated by black holes is for all them to be surrounded by screens of extreme energy that prevent anything from ever entering the event horizon. Sounds outlandish? Welcome to black holes. So let’s find out why many of our most brilliant physicists take these black hole firewalls deadly seriously. PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to:http://to.pbs.org/DonateSPACE Sign up for the mailing list to get episode notifications and hear special announcements! https://mailchi.mp/1a6eb8f2717d/spacetime Search the Entire Space Time Library Here: https://search.pbsspacetime.com/ Hosted by Matt…

People in this episode

Host: Matt O'Dowd

Topics covered

  • black holes
  • event horizon
  • firewall paradox
  • fundamental physics
  • theoretical physics

Keywords

  • black hole
  • event horizon
  • firewall paradox
  • theoretical physics
  • central singularity
  • extreme energy
  • fundamental physics

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: PBS, Space Time Merch Store, Patreon

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