Black Holes: The Membrane Paradigm (The Silliman Memorial Lectures Series)

This pedagogical introduction to the physics of black holes emphasizes the "membrane paradigm", which translates the mathematics and physics of black holes into a form accessible to readers with little knowledge of general relativity but a solid grounding in nonrelativistic physics. This is accomplished without resort to approximations or loss of content. Instead of treating a black hole's "event horizon" as a globally defined null surface in four-dimensional space time, the paradigm views it as a two-dimensional membrane in three-dimensional space. Made of viscous fluid, electrically charged and conducting, with finite entropy and temperature but no power to conduct heat, this membrane is seen as having familiar properties that enable the reader to understand intuitively and compute quantitatively the behavior of black holes in complex astrophysical environments. A Pedagogical Introduction To The Physics Of Black Holes. The Membrane Paradigm Represents The Four-dimensional Spacetime Of The Black Hole's Event Horizon As A Two-dimensional Membrane In Three-dimensional Space, Allowing The Reader To Understand And Compute The Behavior Of Black Holes In Complex Astrophysical Environments. Introduction : The Membrane Paradigm / Richard H. Price And Kip S. Thorne -- Nonrotating And Slowly Rotating Holes / Douglas A. Macdonald [and Others] -- Rapidly Rotating Holes / Kip S. Thomas [and Others] -- Astrophysical Applications Of Black-hole Electrodynamics / Douglas A. Macdonald -- Gravitational Interaction Of A Black Hole With Distant Bodies / James B. Hartle, Kip S. Thorne, Richard H. Price -- Gravitational Interaction Of A Black Hole With Nearby Matter / Richard H. Price, Kip S. Thorne, Ian H. Redmount -- Model Problems For Gravitationally Perturbed Black Holes / Richard H. Price [and Others] -- The Thermal Atmosphere Of A Black Hole / Kip S. Thorne, Wojciech H. Zurek, Richard H. Price. Edited By Kip S. Thorne, Richard H. Price, Douglas A. Macdonald. Includes Indexes. Bibliography: P. 341-347.