Rethinking Black Holes and Cosmology Through a Relational Model of Space and Time

Introduction: A Radical Shift in Perspective

Conventional physics interprets black holes, gravitational waves, and cosmology through the framework of spacetime—a four-dimensional continuum that warps under mass and energy. But what if space and time are not fundamental? What if they are merely relational structures that emerge from interactions? This shift in perspective radically reinterprets some of the most enigmatic aspects of physics while preserving empirical predictions.

This post explores the implications of a relational model of space and time, addressing four critical issues:

1. The nature of gravitational waves

2. The fate of mass-energy inside black holes

3. The implications for cosmology and the Big Bang

4. The overall consistency of this ontology with modern physics

1. Gravitational Waves: Fluctuations in Relational Structuring

Conventional View:

Gravitational waves are often described as ripples in the "fabric" of spacetime, propagating outward at the speed of light when mass-energy distributions change dynamically (e.g., in binary black hole mergers).

Relational Model View:

If space and time are not a background fabric but instead emerge from relational instances, then gravitational waves must be reconceptualised as fluctuations in relational structuring rather than perturbations in a medium. These waves represent shifts in the probabilities of relational instances, influencing how and when processes instantiate (such as changes in relative positions of objects).

Why This Still Matches Observations:

• The observed effects of gravitational waves—such as length contractions in LIGO’s interferometer—are still relational changes (alterations in measurable distances between mirrors).

• The wave’s "propagation" is simply the sequential restructuring of relational instances across an expanding network, rather than the transmission of a distortion through a pre-existing medium.

2. Mass-Energy in Extreme Conditions: What Happens Inside a Black Hole?

Conventional View:

• Mass-energy is treated as an absolute quantity that remains conserved, even in extreme conditions like black holes.

• Inside a black hole, conventional physics suggests mass-energy contributes to a singularity but cannot be meaningfully described.

Relational Model View:

• Energy is not an absolute substance but the potential for processes to unfold within relational structuring.

• This means energy cannot "exist" in isolation—it must be instantiated in relational interactions.

What Happens to Energy Inside a Black Hole?

• As relational structuring collapses beyond the event horizon, energy as a processual potential ceases to instantiate meaningfully for external observers.

• The singularity is not a physical point but a limit where relational structuring no longer supports meaningful individuation of energy instances.

Does This Resolve the Information Paradox?

• If information is instantiated only in structured relations, then no information is truly "lost" in a black hole—it never existed as a meaningful instance beyond the event horizon.

• Hawking radiation could be interpreted as the gradual reinstantiation of relational structuring, allowing meaning to "leak" back into the relational network.

3. Cosmology: Rethinking the Big Bang and Cosmic Expansion

Conventional View:

• The Big Bang is treated as an explosion in spacetime, followed by the expansion of a pre-existing metric.

• Dark energy is an unknown force driving the acceleration of this expansion.

Relational Model View:

• The Big Bang wasn’t an explosion in pre-existing space but the first instantiations of relational structuring.

• Expansion isn’t space getting "bigger" but new relational instances emerging, increasing the network of meaningful potential.

What Does This Mean for the Early Universe?

• The initial singularity isn’t a point in space but a state where relational structuring hadn’t yet individuated meaningful instances.

• The first moments of the universe were the emergence of relational structuring itself, not an expansion of a pre-existing metric.

What About Cosmic Inflation?

• Inflation (the rapid early expansion of the universe) could be the initial rapid individuation of relational instances, rather than a geometric expansion.

• Matter formation corresponds to the increasing individuation of meaning from potential—first as fundamental particles, then as structured interactions.

Does This Change Dark Energy?

• Instead of dark energy being an unknown "force," it could be the emergence of new relational instances at an accelerating rate.

• The apparent expansion of the universe might not be a metric stretching but a growth in the individuated relational structuring of potential.

4. Consistency with Theoretical Physics

A natural concern is whether this relational model still aligns with known physical laws. The answer is yes, because:

• Gravity remains relational—effects like gravitational lensing and frame-dragging are still described by the structuring of relational instances.

• Mass-energy is still conserved in meaningful interactions—energy is instantiated within relational structures rather than existing as an absolute quantity.

• Black holes remain gravitational wells—but instead of warping a background metric, they collapse relational structuring to the point of non-individuation.

• Cosmic expansion remains empirically valid—but as a shift in relational structuring rather than the stretching of a pre-existing space.

Conclusion: A New Paradigm for Black Holes and Cosmology

This relational model challenges the conventional notion of spacetime as a fixed background and replaces it with an emergent network of relational structuring. In this view:

• Gravity = structuring of relational instances, not warping of spacetime.

• Energy = potential for processual unfolding, not an absolute quantity.

• Black holes = relational collapse, not an infinite curvature.

• Big Bang = emergence of relational structuring, not an explosion in space.

This model preserves all empirical predictions of physics while radically reframing our metaphysical assumptions.

By shifting our paradigm from an absolute background to emergent relations, we open new doors for understanding the deepest mysteries of the cosmos.