Xref: utzoo sci.misc:654 talk.religion.newage:1334
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!ut-sally!ut-emx!ethan
From: ethan@ut-emx.UUCP (Ethan Tecumseh Vishniac)
Newsgroups: sci.misc,talk.religion.newage
Subject: Re: Why There Are No Black Holes
Message-ID: <410@ut-emx.UUCP>
Date: 2 Jan 88 02:38:00 GMT
References: <2337@dasys1.UUCP> <395b7bf6.805@hi-csc.UUCP> <2420@dasys1.UUCP>
Distribution: na
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
Lines: 25
Keywords: black holes, event horizon, loud pop
Summary: General Relativity


There are two possible responses to Mr. Fitch's postings.
One is to politely point out that his argument is *not*
based on General Relativity, our current best theory of gravity.
It is not necessary to wade through a mass of equations to
see the problem.  It is very simply that he regards the space-time
background of the black hole as a passive conductor of force from
the center of the black hole to nearby objects.  In GR space-time
is a dynamical participant.  In particular, a "black hol"
is a distortion of space-time whose nature in no way depends on
the matter that formed it.  Nor does anything happening in the
center of black hole contribute in any way to the exterior gravitatioana
field.

Mr. Fitch's argument's are phrased in such a way that I suspect he
doesn't know, or want to know, anything about current physics.  This
suggests a second remedy.  He should simply edit his header so that
this discussion is confined to talk.rligion.newage.  Then it will
appear profound and correct to his audience.

-- 
 I'm not afraid of dying     Ethan Vishniac, Dept of Astronomy
 I just don't want to be     {charm,ut-sally,ut-ngp,noao}!utastro!ethan
 there when it happens.      (arpanet) ethan@astro.AS.UTEXAS.EDU
    - Woody Allen            (bitnet) ethan%astro.as.utexas.edu@WISCVM.WISC.EDU