tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240062999532420004.post7668968676061530423..comments2023-09-17T06:33:01.504-04:00Comments on Distractions: Horseshoes, hand grenades but not black hole event horizons: Being close to the horizon is not good enoughDave Lahrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09699052376229863747noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240062999532420004.post-9497900238371381392014-08-20T09:10:01.817-04:002014-08-20T09:10:01.817-04:00That's a good point about taking quantum mecha...That's a good point about taking quantum mechanics into account. This was definitely a thought exercise in which I was just thinking about pure general relativity - definitely not the correct model - but still a long stretch for me to try to wrap my brain around.<br /><br />I agree with your description of the energies of B & C. Looking back on this now, it seems that a useful shorthand is to think of the event horizon as roughly analogous to a turning point (local maximum) in a potential energy diagram. In classical mechanics, a particle that is infinitesimally on one side will travel in the opposite direction from a particle that is infinitesimally on the other side. I understand the event horizon is not a maximum in a potential energy diagram :) but it's a useful analogy.Dave Lahrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09699052376229863747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7240062999532420004.post-74196488506778007352014-08-20T03:32:31.870-04:002014-08-20T03:32:31.870-04:00You have certainly posed a very deep and thought p...You have certainly posed a very deep and thought provoking question. Even people who do understand the math may be unable to answer it as it involves both general relativity and quantum mechanics.GR presumes effects as deterministic while QM presumes effects as probabilistic. <br />I presume that B would have a chance to barely escape but with only an infinitesimal amount or it's energy once it reaches a great distance while C would come infinitesimally close to an escape. The path of neither photon could be presume as that would require both an exact knowledge of position and moment which is forbidden due to the uncertainty principal. The event horizon only has great significance to a distant observer but not to an observer local to the event horizon. Charley Morinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09534174414341173753noreply@blogger.com