Neurologist Suzanne O’Sullivan demystifies psychosomatic illnesses. Then, learn how scientists saw behind a black hole. Additional resources from neurologist Suzanne O'Sullivan Pick up "The Sleeping Beauties And Other Stories of Mystery Illness" here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/606597/the-sleeping-beauties-by-suzanne-osullivan/ NHS page: https://www.uclh.nhs.uk/our-services/find-consultant/dr-suzanne-osullivan Follow @Suz_OSullivan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Suz_OSullivan Scientists saw behind a black hole for the first time by Briana Brownell Wilkins, D. R., Gallo, L. C., Costantini, E., Brandt, W. N., & Blandford, R. D. (2021). Light bending and X-ray echoes from behind a supermassive black hole. Nature, 595(7869), 657–660. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03667-0 XMM-Newton sees light echo from behind a black hole. (2021). Esa.int. https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2021/07/XMM-Newton_sees_light_echo_from_behind_a_black_hole Sophie, S. (2021, August 3). Astronomers spot light from behind a black hole for the first time — proving Einstein right, again. Cbsnews.com. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supermassive-black-hole-light-behind-einstein/ Patel, N. V. (2021, July 28). Astronomers have spotted x-rays from behind a supermassive black hole. MIT Technology Review; MIT Technology Review. https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/07/28/1030233/x-rays-behind-supermassive-black-hole/ Shah, S. (2021). Scientists spot light behind a black hole for the first time | Engadget. Engadget; Engadget. https://www.engadget.com/black-hole-light-behind-092317917.html Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to learn something new every day withCody Gough andAshley Hamer. Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.
Neurologist Suzanne O’Sullivan demystifies psychosomatic illnesses. Then, learn how scientists saw behind a black hole.
Additional resources from neurologist Suzanne O'Sullivan
Scientists saw behind a black hole for the first time by Briana Brownell
Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer. Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.
Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/psychosomatic-illnesses-and-seeing-behind-a-black-hole
CODY: Hi! You’re about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from curiosity-dot-com. I’m Cody Gough.
ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Today, you’ll learn about psychosomatic illnesses, with help from neurologist Suzanne O’Sullivan; and how scientists saw behind a black hole for the first time.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
When I say an illness is "psychosomatic," what does that mean to you? That it's all in your head? Maybe that it's not even real? Well, today's guest is here to clear up all of those misconceptions. Suzanne O'Sullivan is a neurologist and science writer who has just published her latest book: "The Sleeping Beauties And Other Stories of Mystery Illness." It's all about psychosomatic disorders that grip individuals or even whole communities, and what's being done to treat them. Have a listen.
[CLIP 5:19]
Suzanne told us that not only are psychosomatic illnesses real, but they're really common. She estimates that a third of people who go to the doctor have some sort of psychosomatic illness. We just need to better understand the interaction between psychology and our own biology and normalize this very real disorder. Again, that was Suzanne O'Sullivan, a neurologist and science writer who has just published her latest book: "The Sleeping Beauties And Other Stories of Mystery Illness." Her writing has been compared to Oliver Sacks, so I'd definitely pick it up if I were you. Suzanne will be back tomorrow to talk about one famous event that many characterized as a mass delusion at a high school.
While observing a supermassive black hole 800 million light-years away, scientists saw something unexpected -- an echo of light that was time-delayed and color shifted. This curious flash came from a never-before-seen source: from behind the black hole.
This is the first time that scientists have seen behind a black hole. And it’s all because of the extreme physics that govern these exotic objects.
When matter, like clouds of gases, are pulled into a black hole, they follow a specific progression. First, the gasses swirl and spread out in a disc around the black hole. As this matter is gradually pulled into the black hole, it’s battered by the intense gravity and contorted by the extreme magnetic fields. These strong forces heat it to millions of degrees and lead it to emit super energetic X-rays. That forms a bright ring known as a corona that we can detect here on Earth.
So even though black holes are infinitely dark — after all, no light can escape them — the action around them is extremely bright. That’s why it’s been so difficult to see behind them. Until now.
By observing the corona, scientists can tell a lot about the matter that is falling into the black hole. The gas disc isn’t uniform, so sometimes, when more matter falls into the black hole, the corona flashes more brightly. We can detect these X-ray flares over days or weeks.
But some of those particles take a different path. Instead of travelling straight out, they bounce off the disk of gas around the black hole. Then the extreme warping of spacetime around the black hole causes those X-rays to echo back around to the other side.
That’s exactly what the scientists saw happen. Instead of a single flare, there were multiple flashes, and these flashes were fainter and color-shifted. That was evidence that they were seeing the reflected light from behind the black hole.
Understanding the dynamics of black holes, including what lies behind them, is a critical part of any theory of galactic formation. That’s because black holes are frequently found in the center of galaxies — and that includes this one that we saw behind. After all, black holes are so massive, they often collect vast amounts of matter around them.
These observations were from I Zwicky 1 [eye zwicky one], a galaxy about 800 million light years away. This galaxy’s rotation is slowing down, and scientists aren’t sure why. Fortunately, these observations will help them figure out what’s behind the mystery.
Let’s do a quick recap of what we learned today
[ad lib optional]
ASHLEY: The writer for today’s black hole story was Briana Brownell.
CODY: Our managing editor is Ashley Hamer, who was also an audio editor on today’s episode.
ASHLEY: Our producer and lead audio editor is Cody Gough.
CODY: [AD LIB SOMETHING FUNNY] Join us again tomorrow to learn something new in just a few minutes.
ASHLEY: And until then, stay curious!