A singularity represents one of the most extreme and puzzling concepts in physics—a point where the curvature of spacetime becomes infinite and our understanding of physical laws completely breaks down. At these locations, fundamental quantities like density, temperature, and gravitational field strength approach infinity, making conventional physics meaningless.</p><p>The most famous example is the Big Bang singularity, theorized to have existed 13.8 billion years ago when our entire observable universe was compressed into an infinitesimally small point of infinite density. Another type occurs at the center of black holes, where matter collapses beyond the Schwarzschild radius into a gravitational singularity—a point of zero volume but infinite density.</p><p>Mathematician Roger Penrose and physicist Stephen Hawking revolutionized our understanding through their singularity theorems in the 1960s, proving that singularities are inevitable consequences of Einstein's General Relativity under certain conditions. For stellar black holes, this occurs when a star exceeding 25-40 solar masses collapses catastrophically.</p><p>However, many physicists believe singularities represent the limits of our current theories rather than physical reality. Quantum gravity theories, still under development, may resolve these mathematical infinities and reveal what actually happens at these extreme scales, potentially unlocking secrets about the universe's ultimate nature and origin.