Number 25 (Story #1), March, 14 1991 by Phillip F. Schewe and Ben Stein NAKED SINGULARITIES PRESENT A PROBLEM FOR GENERAL RELATIVITY. Einstein's theory predicts that a gravitationally collapsing star of sufficient mass will eventually shrink within an "event horizon," inside of which the force of gravity is so great that even light cannot escape. At the heart of this black hole is a singularity, a point where gravity would be infinitely large and where the laws of physics would be problematic. Stuart L. Shapiro and Saul A. Teukolsky of Cornell have performed computer simulations (see Physical Review Letters, 25 Feb. 1991.) of collapsing, massive, elongated spheres which show that singularities can form without a surrounding black hole. These naked singularities cannot easily be incorporated in general relativity, according to Shapiro. (Science News, 9 Mar. 1991.)