The Prediction and Interpretation of Singularities and Black Holes: From Einstein and Schwarzschild to Penrose and Wheeler

TL;DR

This paper reviews the historical development of understanding singularities and black holes, focusing on the Schwarzschild solution and the impact of Penrose's singularity theorem from 1916 to the 1960s.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive historical analysis of the evolving interpretations of Schwarzschild singularities and the significance of Penrose's theorem in clarifying black hole concepts.

Findings

Eight different interpretations of Schwarzschild singularities identified

Penrose's singularity theorem significantly advanced understanding of black holes

Historical perspectives highlight evolving scientific consensus

Abstract

The Schwarzschild solution was the first exact solution to Einstein's 1915 field equations, found by Karl Schwarzschild as early as 1916. And yet, physicists, mathematicians and philosophers have struggled for decades with the interpretation of the Schwarzschild solution and the two singularities appearing in it when it is written in polar coordinates. This article distinguishes between eight different ways in which the two singularities have been interpreted between 1916 and the late 1960s, when Penrose's first singularity theorem shed new and lasting light on the interpretation of the Schwarzschild solution.