I always hear about how everyone is trying to figure out black holes. Other universes, breakdown of all we know, annihilation of matter. But now, it seems all of was for nothing, as a new phoenomenon has been discovered which exerts the same effects a black hole does. When a study into the centre of a quasar where they expected to find a black hole, but instead found what they named a MECO (magnetic externally collapsing object). A giant ball of plasma which exerts a huge magnetic force. This has brought about questions as to whether black holes even exist, as they are so difficult to study. Something to support this theory is Einstein's original thoughts and theories about black holes, that they couldn't possibly exist.

I always thought black holes were proved to exist beyond a doubt, yet I always struggled to believe that there was something which simply broke the rules, no questions asked.

So, I'd like to have a discussion about the existance of black holes, this new theory, and where it all fits together.

Also, here a link to an article about it I found (not the original article though) http://www.hindu.com/2006/07/30/stor...3001921800.htm

I have been especially interested in the observations of Sgr A*. Some of these are indicating that it has an event horizon.

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Quote from the second paper/article linked
They discovered a gaping hole in a disc of material surrounding the centre of the quasar, as wide as 4,000 times the distance from the earth to the sun. The hole, they believe, could only be caused by a vast ejection of material propelled by a strong magnetic field.]

[could only be caused by a vast ejection of material propelled by a strong magnetic field]

This is an erroneous assumption! Not the ejection part, but the only could be caused by a strong magnetic field part. (or maybe MBH's do have a mgnetic field, and we just don't know it yet).

But there is another possiblity for the 'gaping hole'...that it is a globular cluster of stars (see link below) and that the angular momentum of the accretion disc has 'dipped' the globular cluster 'towards' to event horizon and effectively 'sling shot' (gravity assist) the GC out into the disc of the galaxy to promote further star formation!

http://www.newscientistspace.com/article/dn8025

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RussT
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Everything is, as it should be, otherwise, it wouldn't be!

I take any claims about magnetic fields and compact objects with an extremely large grain of salt. Nobody really understands the physics involved.

I believe it to be well within the bounds of reason to posit that the material in the accretion disk orbiting the black hole is moving very rapidly and is ionized. If so, this should generate a very strong magnetic field capable of ejecting many tons/second of the incoming ionized material along the magnetic axis of the BH.

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For those inclined to oppose human meddling with the structure of the universe or the composition and configuration of objects and groups of objects within the universe, consider:
Whether there is a limit to the magnitude of a modulation of chaos below which order remains invariant? Or, is order but a fiction invented by perspectives applied over finite, however large, time intervals?

Just because you don't understand it doesn't mean that nobody understands it.

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T. Anderson

I think it's also well within the bounds of mainstream science. Nothing really new there. Many of the details are research in progress.
I don't know much about MECOs. But I can't see how the existence of black holes can be tossed aside so easily.... or at all, for that matter. BHs have become part of mainstream science because gravitational effects have been observed that are caused by an object that cannot be larger than a certain small size (due to observations of dynamic variations in that object). It's a fairly simple calculation to show that such high gravity in such a small volume necessitates an escape velocity of the speed of light, which is the definition of a black hole.

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Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.

I interact with people who make their living by understanding compact objects every day. My experience with discussing these issues with them has lead me to take any claims based on "strong magnetic fields" with extreme caution.

Hum,
BHs are know to have strong magnetic fields.

Title: On the distance of GRO J1655-40
Authors: C. Foellmi (ESO+LAOG, France), E. Depagne (ESO+U.Catolica, Chile), T. H. Dall (ESO), I. F. Mirabel (ESO)

Researchers challenge the accepted distance of 3.2 kpc of GRO J1655-40. They present VLT-UVES spectroscopic observations to estimate the absorption toward the source, and determine a maximum distance of GRO J1655-40. They show that the accepted value of 3.2 kpc is taken for granted by many authors. The researchers retrieved in the ESO archive UVES spectra taken in April 2004 when GRO J1655-40 was in quiescence to determine the spectral type of the secondary star. For the first time they build a flux-calibrated mean (UVES) spectrum of GRO J1655-40 and compare its observed flux to that of five nearby stars of similar spectral types.
They strengthen their results with the traditional pair method, using published photometric data of the comparison stars. They show that the distance of 3.2 kpc is questionable, and determine a spectral type F6IV for the secondary star. They also demonstrate in details that the distance of GRO J1655-40 must be smaller than 1.7 kpc.
The runaway black hole GRO J1655-40 could be associated with the open cluster NGC 6242 which is located at 1.0 ±0.1 kpc from the Sun. At D s 1.7 kpc the jets are not a superluminal, and GRO J1655-40 becomes one of the closest known black holes to the Sun.

Read more (694kb, PDF)


GRO J1655-40: NASA's Chandra Answers Black Hole Paradox

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