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The idea of compensating tidal forces using a ring of compact matter isn’t quite “something no one has shown before.” A concept based on the same principles was analyzed 20 years ago by physicist Robert L. Forward, who published the details in a paper in Physical Review and his science-fiction novel Dragon’s Egg. Forward discussed using such tidal compensation to allow humans to explore the environment near a neutron star.

Geoffrey A. Landis
NASA John Glenn Research Center
Cleveland, Ohio

The article should have identified the size of the black hole in question. For a large-enough black hole, a person falling through the event horizon would feel just a gentle stretch-compression force. The real fun would begin as singularity were approached at the center.

David Marcus
Potomac, Md.