3 ms·
Quote: "The powerful vortices of current have been described as ‘maelstroms’ and are ‘mathematical analogues’ for black holes – which is to say they do exactly
by lutusp 13y ago
Quote: "The powerful vortices of current have been described as ‘maelstroms’ and are ‘mathematical analogues’ for black holes – which is to say they do exactly the same with water that black holes do with light."
Perfect nonsense. I wish science journalists would research these claims in advance of making them.
- aaron695 13y agoWhat scared me is it seems to originate from a MIT site. I assumed some sort of prank? http://www.technologyreview.com/view/518416/black-hole-analogue-discovered-in-south-atlantic-ocean/ http://www.technologyreview.com/view/518416/black-hole-analo...
- lutusp 13y ago> I assumed some sort of prank? I think it's a classic case of physics envy. Some scientists in a relatively uninteresting field want to spice up their work by associating it with cosmology -- with black holes, a topic that everyone recognizes. It's not unlike New Age spiritualists who try to associate their beliefs with quantum theories. Comparing a maelstrom to a black hole is sort of like trying to explain spacetime curvature using a ball rolling around on a rubber sheet -- it's an example often used, but it's very misleading.