It would be difficult for two warships to collide without some of the material in one warship touching some of the material in the other one.
But there is no matter at an event horizon. That's just an imaginary line in space. It's opaque, but not solid.
If the black holes were moving fast enough, it should be possible for their event horizons to cross and then uncross, although that would immediately raise the question of what would happen to matter in the zone of overlap. Perhaps "fast enough" would exceed the speed of light?
IAmBroom|7 months ago
These aren't points; they are (literally) opaque volumes of space, and once their outer limits broach, they have collided.
By analogy, two warships can collide, even though their centers of mass don't.
thaumasiotes|7 months ago
But there is no matter at an event horizon. That's just an imaginary line in space. It's opaque, but not solid.
If the black holes were moving fast enough, it should be possible for their event horizons to cross and then uncross, although that would immediately raise the question of what would happen to matter in the zone of overlap. Perhaps "fast enough" would exceed the speed of light?