IV.Why are black holes are important (at least to
theorists)?
First I will
describe the problems associated with Newton's theory of gravity and then
briefly outline the key features of Einstein's theory of general relativity.
The remainder of the talk will focus on black holes: their definition,
properties, and most importantly how they are observed in nature. Finally I
will try to describe why black holes are so important to theoretical
physicists, and in what sense they are posing riddles whose resolution will
point the way to a viable theory of quantum gravity.
