A spinning black hole in the constellation Scorpius has created a stable dent in the fabric of spacetime, scientists say.


The dent is the sort of thing predicted by Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity. It affects the movement of matter falling into the black hole.


The spacetime-dent is invisible, but scientists deduced its existence after detecting two X-ray frequencies from the black hole that were identical to emissions noted nine years ago. The finding will allow scientists to calculate the black hole's spin, a crucial measurement necessary for describing the object's behavior.


Blinking X-rays


Black holes form when very massive stars runs out of fuel. Their cores implode into a point of infinite density and their outer layers are blown away in a powerful supernova explosion. Within a theoretical boundary called the event horizon, the black hole's gravity is so strong that nothing, including light, can escape.


The X-ray frequencies detected by the team of researchers came from outside the event horizon of GRO J1655-40, a black hole located roughly 10,000 light-years from Earth. It is about seven times more massive than the Sun and siphoning gas from a nearby companion star.


GRO J1655-40 undergoes short periods of intense X-ray emissions, followed by longer periods of comparative quiet. Scientists think this blinking pattern of X-ray activity is related to how matter accumulates around the black hole.


Gas siphoned from the companion star builds up steadily in an accretion disk around the black hole. This process continues for several years. While the accumulation is taking place, the black hole consumes very little gas from the disk.


Every few years, however, something--scientists aren't sure what--triggers a sudden binge fest on the part of the black hole, causing it to guzzle down most of matter in the disk within a period of only a few months.


Black holes emit millions of times more X-rays during these periods of increased activity than when they're quiet.


In recent years, NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer has caught GRO J1655-40 binging twice, once in 1996 and again in 2005. Among the X-ray frequencies observed in 1996 was one at 450 Hz and one at 300 Hz. These two frequencies were observed again in 2005.


This was surprising because when it comes to X-ray emissions, black holes are not known for stability. X-rays are emitted from particles of superheated gas as they swirl into a black hole and rub against each other. However, the luminosity and the frequency at which the X-rays flicker varies from moment to moment because the rate at which the black hole consumes the gas is not constant.


Therefore, detecting two stable frequencies nine years apart strongly suggests they are not caused by fluctuations in the black hole's gas consumption, but by something else.


"Because it's very hard to get gas to behave the same way twice, it argues strongly that these frequencies are being anchored by the black hole's mass and spin, fundamental properties of the black hole itself," study co-author Jon Miller of the University of Michigan told SPACE.com.


Because the black hole is so massive and spinning so fast, it warps spacetime around it.


Spacetime


While devising his general theory of relativity, Einstein combined the three dimensions of space and the one dimension of time into a single useful concept he called spacetime.


Spacetime can be thought of as an elastic sheet that bends under the weight of objects placed upon it. The more massive the object, the more spacetime bends. If the massive object is also spinning, it causes spacetime to not only bend but to twist as well. Scientists call this effect "frame dragging."

Twisted spacetime will cause gas falling into a black hole to move in certain ways. The phenomenon can be roughly compared to the movement of a needle on a record player: as the needle moves along an etched groove on a record, it produces a sound, the exact nature of which is determined by physical deformations in the groove itself.

Similarly, the black hole has created stable deformations in the fabric of spacetime that affects matter moving around it. Gas swirling around the black hole acts like the record needle, but instead of producing specific sounds, it produces certain frequencies of X-ray light.

Two peaks

Scientists think that gas particles moving in warped spacetime near the black hole exhibit two types of motions, each giving rise to a unique frequency. One motion is the orbital motion of the gas as it goes around the black hole. This produces the 450 Hz frequency. The lower 300 Hz frequency is caused by the gas wobbling slightly due to the spacetime deformations.

"If spacetime were not curved, we'd probably just see one peak," said study co-author Jeroen Homan from the Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research at MIT.

Scientists think that all spinning black holes emit two stable frequencies, and that the frequencies are closely tied to the black hole's mass and spin.

GRO J1655-40's mass had already been calculated based on observations of the companion star's orbit. The missing piece of information was the black hole's spin rate. The new frequency findings will help resolve this problem.

"We can now begin to determine the spin and thus, for the first time, more completely describe the black hole," Miller said.

The finding was announced earlier this month at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20060124/sc_space/blackholeputsdentinspacetime

The Fundamental Particle

Physicists spend thousands of hours and millions of dollars each year slaving over hot particle accelerators in their efforts to understand the nature of matter.

Since the time of Democritus of Abdera (460-370 BC) it has been postulated the Universe is comprised of units or 'particles' which - though they may be profoundly minute in nature - are not infinitely divisible. Before the smallest non-empty set can be assembled, there must exist an individual element with which the set may be populated, a singular existence not composed of independent parts, a physical manifestation which consists only of itself, an elemental identity called an ‘entity’.

The material objects with which we interact in our daily environment are composites. A chair, for example, is the label we use to conveniently describe a set of parts including a seat, legs, back and arms. If its construction is of wood, then those parts are made of sets labeled ‘cells’ which are comprised of sets labeled ‘molecules’ which are formed by sets labeled ‘atoms’, whose protons, neutrons and electrons have been theoretically superseded as elemental particles by hadron groups populated by even smaller sub-sets of quark and lepton particles and anti-particles. Science has yet to find (much less examine) a "certifiably" fundamental particle, so what little is currently believed about them is more conjecture than theory. The prevailing assumption is that such basic elements must be structureless and homogeneous - the essence of simplicity. And as particle physicists explore the microcosm, the interpretation of their experiments is colored accordingly. With the application of just a bit of imagination, I might suggest a simpler and more logical blueprint for the fundamental particle. It may be the natural balance within its composition - and not structureless homogeneity - which defines an elemental particle as an individual entity, a singular existence comprised only of itself.

So how can something be comprised only of itself? What are the intrinsic properties of an entity?

If the laws of cause and effect are universally governed by natural balance, then the source of that equilibrium must reside within the very architecture of existence, itself. Just as you would expect every action to be offset by an equal and opposite reaction it would only seem reasonable that each quality within an elemental particle should have an opposite equivalent. Indeed, modern quantum physics views the material world as various sets of oppositely charged particles of matter and anti-matter. Each particle theoretically has a corresponding anti-particle and when the two collide, mass is converted into energy. But particles of matter and anti-matter aren't countervailing existences, they are simply elements which react to each other by changing their condition. If they were truly equal and opposite existences, their properties would be consumed - annihilated on contact, not converted. And just as the process of action and reaction is always balanced within the realm of an event, qualitative balance must reside within the physical domain of each entity - not be disbursed between two or more independent existences as separate particles and anti-particles. In reality, the nature of countervailing qualities may be a bit different than contemporary physicists envision.

In the discipline of mathematics, quantitative values (except Ø) are usually assigned an aspect of positivity or negativity. Zero is not assigned such an aspect because it is an absolute value. The realm of quantitative values is balanced within a one dimensional array - a number line - a set of positive numbers offset by an equivalent set of negative numbers. The universe of dimensional values is similarly balanced. Every direction or vector can be offset by a diametrically opposite equivalent, but those offsets apply within a three dimensional domain. What if qualitative opposites are more than just opposing particle pairs proclaimed by quantum physics theorists? What if reciprocal qualities have multiple countervailing components? For the sake of simplicity, let's take it up just one notch and try to imagine what a 'tri-vailently' balanced fundamental particle might be like.

Color is a convenient example. The opposite (negative) of the color quality RED is GREEN (an equal mixture of BLUE and YELLOW), the opposite of BLUE is ORANGE (a mixture of YELLOW and RED), and the opposite of YELLOW is MAGENTA (RED and BLUE).

The color BLACK is a proportionally equal mixture of RED, YELLOW and BLUE.




Assume the color black represents a null qualitative value.
Just as the quantitative value of Ø is bi-vailently equivalent to two opposing numbers (+1) + (-1), the qualitative value of black is tri-vailently equivalent to three opposing colors RED + BLUE + YELLOW. ALL the opposing sub-elements must be present in precisely equal proportion in order to reciprocally balance each other and maintain a null value.




OK, now you've glimpsed a "tri-vailent" system of reciprocal balance. Makes an interesting illustration, doesn't it? Care to take it up another notch? Or ten? Or more?

Like the particles and anti-particles of contemporary quantum physics, the theory of reciprocity requires every instance of being within an entity to have a reciprocal - but instead of each point having a diametric opposite (two defined points offsetting each other), the opposing value of any given point in an elemental identity may be distributed among the sub-qualities of the entire set of remaining points - just as in the illustration above, if any point of qualitative value in the color wheel is removed, the sum of the remaining colors would not be 'perfectly black' - its value would be something other than zero and a law of nature would be broken. The very existence of each point within the element depends upon the existence of all of the other points. Every moment of physical presence in the particle is an interdependent part of the same parcel, and each contributes its share to the balance. It is this very feature which defines a fundamental particle as a singular identity, a unique instance of null value - an element comprised only of itself.

Science has never isolated an entity and virtually nothing is known about the internal nature of an elemental particle. I designed the Entity illustration above to feature a nucleus. This is, of course, strictly conjecture; however, nuclei are common to the microcosm and macrocosm - 'centers of being' where all actions and reactions emanate and converge. There is a basic law of physics which states two things cannot simultaneously occupy the same space. But points of existence within a truly fundamental particle are not independent contiguous existences, they are continuous and mutually co-dependent instances of the same element - the same identity. The rules of conduct within an entity may be vastly different from those which govern the interaction between two entities. Internally, an entity's sub-qualities may be able to morph or blend - like the colors above - to produce different conditions or 'states of being'. Theoretically the condition of an entity might even be able to change without motion - reciprocating qualitative changes involving no internal physical movement.

Fundamental particles are truly 'individual' - not comprised of independent components; hence, no portion of an entity could ever be separated from the remainder. When a composite is severed, as in slicing a loaf of bread or tearing a piece of paper, electromagnetic forces holding independent particles in proximity to each other are overcome by the force of the device used to separate the material. But the field of existence within an entity is continuous. To cleave a fundamental particle, something must be inserted between two of its continuous points. Two independent existences cannot occupy the same space, so the point you are attempting to cleave would simply move. To sever an entity at a point within its domain would require the point of separation to physically cease to exist, and if cause and effect is a function of existence, then before the most infinitesimal point of being could be annihilated, it would lose its ability to change or be changed.

If the most basic elements of the Universe were structureless in nature they would also be changeless, and the entire cosmos would be a static and timeless environment. It is reciprocal balance which defines an entity - not homogeneity. And unlike the handful of theoretically uniform particles which contemporary physics touts to be the foundation of the material Universe, reciprocal symmetry suggests a limitless spectrum of dynamic elements both material and ethereal in nature, a wondrous cosmic fabric of infinite variety.

The phenomenon of existence is explained by a principle - not a process :

For every value V( + ) there exists an equal and opposite value V( - ) such that -

The sum of all value in the Universe is equivalent to Ø

That necessary but indefinite primordial element we call 'nothing' is simply a reflection of the intrinsic balance which pervades the structure of the cosmos. Nothing is, in fact, the common essence of every element in the cosmic spectrum - and it is the fulcrum of an eternally balanced perpetual system.

Nothing

The existence of 'Nothing' ostensibly requires no justification.

It is universally considered to be the ONLY natural phenomenon which intrinsically complies with the principles of logic.

But just what IS 'Nothing'?

The "void" of space isn't Nothing as in non-existent. Space may be non-material - i.e. it does not have the property of mass - but it occupies volume and anything which has a physical presence in the Universe exists.

Semantically, 'Nothing' has two connotations :
'Nothing(L)' (in logical terms) is the null set - represented by the symbol 'Ø'.
'Nothing(A)' (in the abstract) is 'that which does not exist'.

But, 'that which does not exist' does not exist. It is not the empty set. It is not a set at all. It has no properties or attributes.

To consider 'Nothing(A)' would be not to consider.
To perceive 'Nothing(A)' would be not to perceive.
To understand 'Nothing(A)' would be not to understand.

Imagine an inert, infinitesimal point in space - and then try to imagine that same point NOT in space. Logic requires definition. 'Nothing' - in the abstract context - is undefined, it does not exist, it is a fiction which has no physical manifestation in the Universe.

Within the realm of logic 'Nothing' isn't 'non-existence', it is the existence of the null set - the value of 'Ø'.

Reality is usually measured and described within the parameters of three basic criteria - quality, quantity and dimension (relative position and configuration). Quantitatively there is a negative equivalent for every positive value. Dimensionally there is an opposite for every vector. If each of the fundamental building blocks of the Universe is composed of multivailent sets of reciprocally balanced qualities and anti-qualities, then relative to the finite world the equivalent of 'Nothing' exists - qualitatively, quantitatively and dimensionally.

But in the very real and not so 'relative' domain of infinity, true 'Nothing' exists - all in one place at the same time. Sound strange? You are too close to the subject. Let's step back a little further for a better view. Way back . . . keep going . . . all the way to infinity:

If every quality has a reciprocal, then the sum of all qualitative value in the Universe is Ø.

Consider the fractions 1/2 and 1/99999,999,999,999,999 . As the denominator of a fraction increases, its value decreases. Though infinity is undefined and cannot be represented by a value, it is obvious that if the numerator of a fraction is finite, then regardless how large that numerator may be, the ratio approaches Zero as the denominator grows to ‘approach infinity’. The quantitative ratio of any finite body compared to the Universe is Zero.

Using any given point in space as an X,Y,Z axis, one may theoretically extend equidistant lines to infinity throughout the spectrum of polar coordinates. The procedure inscribes a sphere which theoretically encompasses the Universe. By definition, the selected point is the center of that sphere - and the center of the Universe. Since the same can be done for all points in the Universe, every point in the cosmos is its center.

From the point of view of infinity, nothing exists, has no size and no relative location. It is the only perspective from which quantitative, qualitative and dimensional values all vanish to ZERO.

http://www.theory-of-reciprocity.com/genesis.htm

Ain't theory fun? The site is quite interesting if you want to kill a little time.

Nnnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrddddddddddddddsssssss!