lew@sri-unix (08/16/82)
The equivalence of mass and energy, and in particular, the gravitational attraction of "pure energy", is the reason that gravitational collapse is inexorable. An object resists collapse with internal pressure, but pressure is just energy density. There comes a point where the additional energy density required to resist collapse generates more gravitational (inward) pressure than outward pressure. This is the reason that not only no known force, but no imaginable force can resist the collapse. That is, of course, assuming ones imagination to be restricted by the general theory of relativity. Lew Mammel, Jr. - BTL Indian Hill