Suppose you drop a clock toward a black hole. As you look at the clock from a high orbit, what will you notice?
A) Time on the clock will run slower as it approaches the black hole, and light from the clock will be increasingly redshifted.
B) Time on the clock will run faster as it approaches the black hole, and light from the clock will be increasingly blueshifted.
C) The clock will fall toward the black hole at a steady rate, so that you'll see it plunge through the event horizon within just a few minutes.
D) The clock will fall faster and faster, reaching the speed of light as it crosses the event horizon.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

As the clock gets closer to the black hole, it experiences stronger gravitational time dilation, causing time to appear to slow down from a distant observer's perspective. In addition, the light emitted by the clock becomes increasingly redshifted due to the strong gravitational pull of the black hole. The clock will not necessarily fall through the event horizon within just a few minutes, as it depends on the size and mass of the black hole. Falling faster and faster and reaching the speed of light as it crosses the event horizon is not possible according to the laws of physics.

Suppose You Drop a Clock Toward a Black Hole