Customer Reviews

The Iron Sun: Crossing the Universe Through Black Holes

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The author describes the work needed and the idea behind using black holes as space travel devices. A major hole in this theory, not unlike the time machine postulated by Frank Tipler Jr., is that we must first overcome the problem of inertia! Certainly a non-trivial problem in itself. The book describes the project needed to build an "Iron Sun", out of ferric dust in the neighboorhood of our solar system. Borrowing heavily from Von Neumann, he describes a construction device capable of reproduction that could be turned loose some 1 light year away (another trivial event!) and left to push together a self-contracting pile of iron dust that would collape into a ten-solar mass black hole. He goes on in some detail to describe the problems that this might create, physically and politically, not to mention economically. Also is a rather sketchy version of how two holes could be build and an Einstein-Rosen Bridge be somehow built between them, the science is hazy at this point. There is no mention of quantum effects such as non-locality that could account for this action. Even though, I enjoyed the book throughly and recommend it to anyone intereted in black holes or engineering projects in space.

I was swept away with the various concepts and theories that Mr. Berry wrote about. Although some had a "Star Trek" like feel to them, I felt that his ideas were very promising, and the way that he proposed them were both intrigueing and informative. I look forward to reading any of his works with the same enthusiasm.