I AM THE FATHER OF 70% OF YOU.
Posted on 03/31/2005 4:41:46 PM PST by Michael_Michaelangelo
Black holes are staples of science fiction and many think astronomers have observed them indirectly. But according to a physicist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, these awesome breaches in space-time do not and indeed cannot exist.
Over the past few years, observations of the motions of galaxies have shown that some 70% the Universe seems to be composed of a strange 'dark energy' that is driving the Universe's accelerating expansion.
George Chapline thinks that the collapse of the massive stars, which was long believed to generate black holes, actually leads to the formation of stars that contain dark energy. "It's a near certainty that black holes don't exist," he claims.
Black holes are one of the most celebrated predictions of Einstein's general theory of relativity, which explains gravity as the warping of space-time caused by massive objects. The theory suggests that a sufficiently massive star, when it dies, will collapse under its own gravity to a single point.
But Einstein didn't believe in black holes, Chapline argues. "Unfortunately", he adds, "he couldn't articulate why." At the root of the problem is the other revolutionary theory of twentieth-century physics, which Einstein also helped to formulate: quantum mechanics.
(Excerpt) Read more at nature.com ...
cosmos ping
Obviously, someone hasn't looked inside Barney Frank's head.
Well, they do exist because we can observe their effects. But can they "exist" the way we understand existence?
Probably not.
And isn't it nice to know that scientists are willing to admit that they don't know it all?
Times are changin'. :)
What's next? No Klingons?
Barney's head is very selective about what it "sucks in"!
Oh yeah? Well then where do our tax dollars go?
Einstein also believed that "God doesn't play dice" when in fact The Old Guy is an inveterate gambler.
Black Holes suck!
If you ever had a long haired dog, you would be well aware that Klingon will always exist.
Another recent theory is that black holes are essential to galaxy formation. So who is correct?
So black holes don't exist, we're just seeing something that looks and acts like a black hole would, except for utilizing a different mechanism?
No matter what, it still sucks.
Well this would just throw out about 60 years of cosmology.. Jeez.
Every time I try to grasp quantum physics, event horizons, black holes and super-dense dark matter, my head starts to explode and I have to go find something I can deal with like digging a posthole or sorting my socks.
I AM THE FATHER OF 70% OF YOU.
yeah im not buying this. I need to see some equations and evidence before I believe any of this. I have a background in physics and I get the impression that he doesnt understand some aspects about general relativity. The problem with quantum mechanics at the boundary comes most likely from the fact that we have no theory of gravitational quantum mechanics. I've noticed that some physicists when they cant explain something like to say its because of dark matter/energy
Of course black holes exist. That's where all of my money goes. Wait. That's taxes!
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