String theory and the principle of black hole complementarity.

String theory provides an example of the kind of apparent inconsistency that the Principle of Black Hole Complementarity deals with. To a freely infalling observer a string falling through a black hole horizon appears to be a Planck size object. To an outside observer the string and all the information it carries begin to spread as the string approaches the horizon. In a time of order the “information retention time” it fills the entire area of the horizon. PACS Categories: 04.60.+n, 12.25.+e, 97.60.Lf, 11.17.+y ⋆ [email protected]