Think of black holes as a gravitaional ghost. As an object behaves in orbit around a star of the same mass as the black hole, so will it behave ound the black hole itself. As for CL`s view on Einsteins`s gravitational waves, the energy dissapation rate per mass is negligble. Gravitational waves are predicted to be detectable only if two large mass objects (stellar black holes or netron stars for example) were to collide and merge. Otherwise the energy lose would not be detectable or applicable in the scale of forces also acting. The object in s stable long term orbit would be more likely to be thrown away from it`s gravitational parent than into it. For example, the moon is slowly moving away from us each orbit. I am uncertain of the exact rate, but it is happening (I remember it being covered on The Learning Channel Program "If We Had No Moon")

• RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: the end of the Universe? - jshnjsbvnabn - April 22, 2000 - 16:04 UTC