Re:x-rays aren't light? Or... wait a sec! (Score 2, Informative)

Words like "produce" and "consume" are bad science words. Mostly used in docudrama style tv shows and movies using snippets of science to achieve an end goal: make more money by scaring the crap out of people. Black holes do not EMIT xrays, or anything else that we know of (although they must be emitting something if you believe like Hawking, that black holes can and do lose mass and eventually dissipate) . Xrays are EMITTED by material (gases) falling into a black hole, being heated as they move and gain density. The additional energy the gas absorbs is enough to have it shoot off in an almost plasma jet fashion. Technically we can not and never will be able to "see" as in observe visible light reflecting off of a black hole and having it be observed with our retina. The only way we can detect a black hole is by: observing occulations of stars/galaxies either in the visible or xray spectrums; calculating masses of quasars or galaxies based on rotational speeds and observed mass index; or touching it and falling in. It's only a matter of semantics though. We see things all the time without having to actually be hit by reflected light; a person walking across a dark room, slightly obscuring the light from the window comes to mind.