"Mark Martin" wrote in message
ups.com...

Greysky wrote:
While Stephen Hawking recently came to the conclusion black holes are
not
what he thought they were, I find it amazing he took decades to come
to that
conclusion. Using a proof that relies on relativistic arguments
instead of
information conservation makes things easier to comprehend. It is
assumed
that a non rotating black hole will be observed to have a spherical
event
horizon if observed by someone at rest with respect to the black
hole. Now,
if the black hole is passing by someone at some relativistic
velocity, that
observer will see that the black holes' event horizon is no longer
spherical, and that it is foreshortened in the direction of motion
according to the rules of relativity. Indeed, the faster the black
hole
passes by the observer, the more flattened out the event horizon will
become
in the direction of motion. Eventually, there will come a point in
the
velocity curve, when the event horizon will be congruent with the
singularity producing it. At that point, the singularity will no
longer be
shielded from the outside observer - it will be visible along the
direction
of motion, and able to interact with the external environment.

Heh! That's a lot like saying that an observer near the event
horizon, seeing me whiz by at nearly c, will see my epidermis shorten
until my bones have to stick out of my skin.

Not quite. Your bones will also shorten along the direction of motion so
everything will stay in proportion. The singularity of a black hole however
will not foreshorten because of relativity. Since it is an infinitely small
point of gravity it remains a pointlike particle of gravity and relativity
allows you to look under the holes skirt, which is a no-no.

Greysky