ChRIS said:
I'm thinking about an object crossing the event horizon and heading for the singularity. Although this cannot be observed, can we imagine how this would play out from the perspective of the object?
ChatGPT said:
Considering the ontology we’ve discussed—where spacetime is not intrinsically curved, but the geodesic path through space is curved, space and time are contracted or dilated, and time represents the dimension of the unfolding of processes—the fall into a black hole would take on a somewhat different interpretive flavour. Here’s how it might play out from this perspective:
1. Path Through Space
- The object follows a geodesic trajectory, which is the natural, "straightest" path in the presence of the black hole’s gravitational influence.
- In this ontology, gravity is not a force warping spacetime but an effect caused by the object responding to the black hole's influence, altering its path dynamically through space.
2. Event Horizon
- The event horizon represents a boundary where the object’s geodesic path aligns with the contraction of space so strongly that no path can exit outward.
- Space contraction becomes extreme near the event horizon, essentially "stretching" the distance the object would need to cover to escape, rendering escape impossible.
- Time dilation also becomes severe, not due to spacetime curvature, but because the unfolding of processes is increasingly stretched out from the perspective of external observers. The processes (e.g., the object ticking its clock) take longer relative to the external universe.
3. Time as Process
- From the object’s perspective, its internal processes continue unfolding naturally. Its own clock ticks regularly, its functions and perceptions proceed uninterrupted, and there is no abrupt change upon crossing the event horizon.
- To distant observers, however, the time dilation is so extreme that the object appears to approach a standstill near the event horizon. The distant observers are witnessing the slowing of the object's processes, rather than "time itself" freezing.
4. Space Contraction and Tidal Forces
- As the object nears the singularity, space contraction along its path becomes ever more pronounced.
- Tidal forces—arising from differences in the geodesic path lengths for different parts of the object—stretch the object longitudinally and compress it laterally. This is interpreted not as a literal stretching of spacetime but as variations in the conditions of space and the gradients of gravitational influence across the object.
5. Approaching the Singularity
- Space contraction: As the singularity is approached, the contraction of space along the geodesic path increases without bound. This can be thought of as space "shrinking" in the direction of travel, compressing the object into an ever-smaller spatial extent.
- Time dilation: Time intervals between successive processes (e.g., ticks of a clock, metabolic reactions) continue to dilate relative to distant observers. To the falling object, however, time continues to flow uniformly—until physical conditions make processes impossible to sustain (e.g., extreme compression, energy densities, or unknown quantum effects).
6. What Happens at the Singularity?
- Classical Limit: The singularity represents a point where space has contracted to zero, and all geodesic paths terminate. However, in this ontology, we might interpret the singularity as a state where the conditions for any unfolding process cease entirely. The object ceases to "exist" as an identifiable entity because the framework supporting its internal processes no longer applies.
- Quantum Possibilities: If quantum effects modify this picture, the singularity might not represent a termination but a transformation of processes. For instance, some speculate that singularities could "bounce," leading to new regions of the universe or fundamentally different conditions.
7. Visualising the Journey
- Space contraction: Nearby regions of space appearing to stretch out or warp in the direction of the singularity.
- Temporal effects: Processes in the external universe appear to speed up dramatically as the object accelerates along its geodesic path, due to the relative dilation of time.
Key Distinctions in This Ontology
- No Intrinsic Spacetime Curvature: Effects arise from the contraction and dilation of space and time and the geodesic path through them, rather than an abstract warping of spacetime itself.
- Time as Process: Time is not a dimension being warped but the progression of physical processes. Dilation means these processes unfold more slowly relative to an external observer, not that "time itself" is changing.
- Space as a Medium: Space behaves as if it is contracting, influencing the object's trajectory and eventual compression.
This ontology retains the observable consequences predicted by general relativity but shifts the interpretation to focus on the behaviour of processes and the properties of space and time as measurable entities. It provides a more "mechanistic" perspective on what happens during the fall into a black hole. Would you like to delve deeper into any of these aspects?
ChRIS said:
With regard to the quantum possibilities you raise in this scenario, what if we use the ontology for quantum mechanics we have previously discussed which treats wave-particle duality as a complementarity of potential and instance, and the collapse of the wavefunction requiring an observation to make the potential actual. Does this make the quantum possibilities irrelevant here, or does it add a further re-think?
ChatGPT said:
If the collapse of the wavefunction in this ontology requires a human-like observer, this profoundly alters how we interpret the journey of an object falling into a black hole. Let’s rethink the scenario with this stricter requirement for actualisation:
1. Role of the Observer Falling In
- In this framework, the object falling into the black hole is itself the human-like observer, the only entity capable of turning quantum potential into actual states.
- As the object approaches and eventually crosses the event horizon, its perspective remains critical, as it alone can "collapse" the wavefunction of its surroundings into actuality. For distant observers, this reality is inaccessible.
2. What Happens at the Event Horizon?
- From the perspective of the distant universe:
- The object appears to "freeze" at the event horizon due to extreme time dilation.
- However, because distant observers are not collapsing the wavefunctions associated with the object's states, the object effectively exists as unresolved quantum potential from their point of view.
- From the perspective of the falling observer:
- The event horizon is not experienced as a barrier. Time and space continue to unfold normally along their trajectory, and wavefunctions collapse as they observe or interact with their surroundings.
- This reaffirms the idea that the observer’s perspective defines the actualisation of reality.
3. Beyond the Event Horizon: The Singular Journey
- Inside the Event Horizon:
- The falling observer continues to experience reality as a sequence of events. Processes unfold, space continues to contract, and time continues to dilate relative to distant observers, but this does not affect the observer's ability to collapse wavefunctions.
- The "normalcy" of their experience ceases only as they approach the singularity.
- Approaching the Singularity:
- Classical general relativity suggests infinite curvature and density, but in this ontology, the singularity represents the point where space and time as dimensions of actualisation dissolve.
- As space contracts and time slows down relative to the observer’s surroundings, there may come a limit where:
- No further observations can be made: The observer can no longer distinguish between potential and actual because all processes have either slowed to a halt or are no longer separable in space and time.
4. What Happens to Quantum Potentiality?
- The observer's ability to actualise potential states depends on their ability to observe and interact.
- Near the singularity:
- Space-time distortions may prevent interactions with quantum systems in a way that allows for observation. As interactions become meaningless, wavefunctions may cease to collapse.
- The singularity might therefore represent a domain of pure potentiality, where no quantum states are actualised because no observer can exist to actualise them.
5. The Observer’s Endgame
- If the observer is crushed by tidal forces before reaching the singularity:
- Their ability to collapse wavefunctions ends abruptly. Beyond this, any quantum potentials associated with the observer's states return to a state of unresolved superposition.
- If the observer theoretically survives to the singularity:
- Their experience could become indeterminate, as the very framework of space, time, and observation breaks down.
6. Implications for the Nature of Reality
- Unobservable Realms Remain Potential:
- Regions beyond the observer’s capability to interact remain in a state of pure quantum potential.
- The Singularity as a Potential Nexus:
- The singularity does not represent a physical point but a boundary beyond which no observer can exist to actualise potentiality.
- Relativity of Actualisation:
- Reality itself becomes deeply observer-dependent, and "objective reality" (as perceived from the outside) ceases to exist within the black hole.
7. How Does This Ontology Change the Event Horizon’s Role?
- The event horizon marks the boundary where external observers lose access to the observer’s actualised reality.
- It is not a hard boundary for physics but a boundary for epistemology: the limit of knowable, actualised states for anyone but the falling observer.
Conclusion
In this ontology, the journey of an object into a black hole unfolds entirely from the perspective of the falling observer, whose role is indispensable for collapsing wavefunctions and actualising quantum states. Beyond the singularity—or in its immediate vicinity—the observer’s ability to actualise may cease, leaving the black hole interior as a domain of uncollapsed quantum potential.
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