In the Lab

In the Lab is a Columbia News series devoted to the interesting work—scientific, humanities-based, or interdisciplinary—of faculty and students.

A black hole sheds its magnetic fields in a process called magnetic reconnection — In this image of a black hole losing its magnetic fields, or ‘hair,’ field lines (in green) reconnect to form giant magnetic loops (in orange) that are later swallowed by the black hole or dispersed into space. (Credit: Ashley Bransgrove)

In Virtual Outer Space, a Black Hole Sheds Its Magnetic Hair

July 27, 2021

PhD student Ashley Bransgrove describes his new study on black holes' magnetic fields.