Sometimes, there is no going back to where we started.
Pentax MX, Cinestill 50, Nov 2022.
A tipping point signifies a moment in time when an irreversible event takes place. In other words, an event that cannot be undone. We can tip our hat, and we can put it back on our head straight. So this event is not really a true tipping point.
Spilling a jug of milk on the breakfast table is slightly different. We can’t simply ‘unspill’ a jug of milk. We can wipe it off the table, but the spilt milk is not getting back into the jug. At least, not all of it. So this action could be considered a tipping point.
Granite Boulder in rainforest. Pentax MX, Ektar 100. Nov 2022.
A point of no return is a form of irreversible action as well. We pass a point of no return when the idea of turning around exits the realm of possibility. We can encounter a point of no return when we jump; we can’t change our trajectory once we are in the air.
Light circling a black hole can also reach a point of no return, called the event horizon. Once light gets close enough to a black hole, it falls in and never escapes, drawn in by the black hole’s incredible gravitational force. Therefore, no events are going to be visible beyond a black hole’s event horizon. While the light should and must go somewhere when it enters a black hole, all we know is that it goes in but doesn’t come out.
One may wonder, where does all the light end up that gets swallowed by black holes?
This boulder is not going back up the hill. Pentax MX, Ektar 100, Nov 2022.
-A.S. Lenah Valley, 25/12/22.