A new peer-reviewed paper published in the European Physical Journal Plus proposes a fundamental shift in how scientists understand black hole singularities. For over 110 years, singularities have been described as points of infinite curvature, a concept many physicists consider unphysical. The paper, authored by independent theoretical physicist Michael Aaron Cody, argues that singularities do not represent physical infinities but instead mark the point where the mathematical description of spacetime breaks down.
The work introduces a mechanical failure condition for spacetime, analogous to how materials fail under extreme stress or how fluid models break down at small scales. Using established equations from general relativity, Cody identifies a clear threshold where the continuum description of spacetime no longer applies. This framework does not alter any tested predictions of general relativity outside the event horizon, meaning observable black hole behavior remains unchanged.
According to Cody, the proposed model provides a physically grounded way to understand singularities without invoking infinite quantities. The research was conducted independently and was self-funded. The paper was published online on January 7, 2026, in the European Physical Journal Plus, an international physics journal published by Springer Nature. A preprint version is also available for free access on Preprints.org.
Michael Aaron Cody is an independent theoretical physicist with more than 20 years of self-directed study and 10 years of university work. His research focuses on first-principles approaches to long-standing problems in physics and has been published across multiple peer-reviewed journals.
