Schwarzschild radius

[ German shvahrts-shilt; English shwawrts-chahyld, -shild ]
/ German ˈʃvɑrtsˌʃɪlt; English ˈʃwɔrtsˌtʃaɪld, -ʃɪld /

noun Astronomy.

the radius at which a gravitationally collapsing celestial body becomes a black hole.

Origin of Schwarzschild radius

1955–60; named after Karl Schwarzchild (1873–1916), German astronomer

British Dictionary definitions for schwarzschild radius

Schwarzschild radius
/ (ˈʃwɔːtsˌʃɪld, German ˈʃvartsʃɪlt) /

noun

astronomy the radius of a sphere (Schwarzschild sphere) surrounding a non-rotating uncharged black hole, from within which no information can escape because of gravitational forces

Word Origin for Schwarzschild radius

C20: named after Karl Schwarzschild (1873–1916), US astrophysicist

Scientific definitions for schwarzschild radius

Schwarzschild radius
[ shwôrts′chīld′, shvärts′shĭld ]

A radius defined for a body of a given mass and proportional to that mass, such that if the body is smaller than that radius, the force of gravity is strong enough to prevent matter and energy to escape from within that radius. The Earth is much larger than its Schwarzschild radius, which is approximately 7 mm (0.28 inches).Black holes are examples of objects smaller than their Schwarzschild radius, which defines the radius of their event horizon. The Schwarzschild radius is a consequence of Einstein's General Relativity theory. It is named after the German astronomer Karl Schwarzschild (1873-1916).