61–70 of 105 posts
Why is it that some experts say stuff falls into the center of a black hole while others say it slows down and never passes the event horizon? Is it just semantics?
X-ray astronomers, how weird is it that they show their fits in physical space and not in instrument space?
Still continues to amaze me that the more they look the more they confirm Einstein. Yet we know — or strongly suspect — that at the singularity and within the BH general relativity breaks down. I hope we see a unification of GR and Quantum mechanics in my lifetime. Would be really neat
Not to bring the all pervasive AI topic into this discussion, but I think the best hope we have for finding that unification depends on an AI superintelligence. I wonder if we've reached the limit of what a singular human mind can push.
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Is it even scientific to claim anything about black hole insides? AFAIU it's impossible by definition for any information to escape black hole insides. Any observation or experiment is not possible. Any assumption can't be confirmed or rebuted. Basically it can't be falsified, so it's not a science according to Popper.
> AFAIU it's impossible by definition for any information to escape black hole insides. Any observation or experiment is not possible this doesnt precisely follow. observation or experiment is possible from within the event horizon, although this might limit plausible venues for publication
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We have Hawking radiation and gravitational waves and the future potential to experiment with microscopic black holes in the lab, along with the hypothesis that Planet 9 might be a primordial black hole in our solar system, there is a wealth of opportunities to explore and learn more about black holes experimentally, without entering one physically.
Yes, but definitionally, none of those experiments can tell us anything about what is inside the black hole.
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My layperson understanding is that collision with the singularity (if that even exists) is mathematically inevitable for an object that has crossed the event horizon. I think your scenario of hanging out within the event horizon and safely away from the singularity for indefinite time would require infinite fuel to counteract the gravitational gradient, or for even more fundamental reasons.
> or for even more fundamental reasons. Even more fundamental: you'd need infinite fuel to hang out forever just outside the event horizon — once you're inside, the direction of the singularity is "future" not "forwards", so you can't resist getting there with any form of propulsion any more than you can resist getting to next Thursday with any form of propulsion.
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I was cured of blind techno-optimism years ago. The race for superintelligence is between ad-slinging megacorps and authoritarian governments. Whoever wins, we humans lose.
I Feel like were having two different conversations here. Who said anything about optimism? Are those the two options now optimism or doomerism? No space left for anything approaching realism? I criticize blind techno-doomerism for its use of clanky old worn out cliches from the sci-fi of last century. I criticize LLM bros for being naive and blinded by advertising. Both groups completely misunderstood the relevant s…
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
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> or for even more fundamental reasons. Even more fundamental: you'd need infinite fuel to hang out forever just outside the event horizon — once you're inside, the direction of the singularity is "future" not "forwards", so you can't resist getting there with any form of propulsion any more than you can resist getting to next Thursday with any form of propulsion.
This may be hopelessly naive but isn't the idea of GR that with sufficient fuel (and I suppose breaking some laws of physics) I can effectively postpone my experiencing next Thursday (here on earth) by moving away from earth at one lightsecond/second?
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No need to perish, current theories explain that the innermost region of a spinning black hole (all real world black holes spin) has a low gravity region where arbitrary navigation is possible. You can't escape, but you also don't have a death date with the singularity.
My layperson understanding is that collision with the singularity (if that even exists) is mathematically inevitable for an object that has crossed the event horizon. I think your scenario of hanging out within the event horizon and safely away from the singularity for indefinite time would require infinite fuel to counteract the gravitational gradient, or for even more fundamental reasons.
I don't know how near the event horizon a safe orbit can be?
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This may be hopelessly naive but isn't the idea of GR that with sufficient fuel (and I suppose breaking some laws of physics) I can effectively postpone my experiencing next Thursday (here on earth) by moving away from earth at one lightsecond/second?
Other way around, the more you accelerate, the less time you experience between now and then.