Re: Black Holes

[This came to [email removed], looks like it was
meant for [email removed].  Watch those automatic reply
headers! -- James]

[email removed] writes
>In response to metlay:
>
>Oops...Yes I had forgotten about the light-bending properties of blackholes,
>and with a spaceship that can move over a wide area, it is quite probable
>that they would be detected fairly easily.

Actually, at distances of parsecs, the light bending properties of black
holes are not significantly different from those of ordinary stars of the
same mass.  I won't bother you (unless provoked!) with the math, but the
point is that the Einstein ring diameter (=characteristic scale of lensing
phenomena) is far larger than the stellar radius so that it makes very
little difference whether the mass is concentrated within its
Schwarzschild radius or merely within a normal stellar radius.  The
differences get more impressive if you get close (say within about 0.01 pc).

On the general topic of stellar exotica in Traveller, one should not
overlook degenerate (white) dwarf stars which are certainly common enough
to appear in great numbers within the Imperium.  Although much less
exotic than neutron stars and black holes, their large surface gravities
and tendancy to produce enormous explosions (novae) when provided with a
bit of hydrogen fuel might allow for some interesting adventures.  BTW,
such stars often occur in binary systems which would allow for an
ordinary star supporting habitable planets in the near vicinity of a
degenerate dwarf.

Ed Turner


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