Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Gedanken for the Memory Part 2

This thought experiment requires a lot more thought than at first meets the eye. Watch for part three for a set of diagrams IN MY HANDWRITING!!!

First you have to remember that the space station is built around a huge black hole so that tidal effects are minimal.

Remember that there is a light orbit, that is, at a certain radius from the center, light neither falls into nor out of the black hole. A little more thought tells you that this "orbit" is extremely thin, and let us further say that this radius is at the center of the station. Now, you are standing in the station with your feet pointing towards the center, and this "radius" goes right through your middle. Even without the broom, what would you see?

Well, since any light below the radius cannot get out, anything below your waist is completely black, and although you do not know it, you cannot get your legs back!

Also, the space station my be curved, but because the light in it is curved, all you will see is half a straight corridor.

Now, imagine your broom is one of the old-fashioned sweep's brooms, that is, is extendable. As you tacked on extensions, what would you see at the tip of the broom?

It gets weirder, as I have now worked it out!

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