Internal Physics of Black Holes: Recent Developments

Abstract

Surely there is nothing which more plainly invites ridicule than the study of black hole interiors. No matter what happens inside the hole, we can never observe it, nor will it affect anything we can observe. Penrose’s famous 1965 theorem assures the presence of a (classical) singularity internally, signalling a breakdown of all the laws of physics. Finally, “hair” (irregularities) swept into the hole at the time of collapse will surely pile up, producing a state of internal chaos. On the face of it, this hardly seems a topic for serious scientists of sound views.