What is "fuzzball"

n. 1 Any soft, fuzzy creature. 2 (context astronomy English) A quantum description of a black hole in superstring theory. 3 A puffball.

Fuzzball can refer to:

• A furry, small animal, such as a kitten or ferret
• Fuzzball sport, a variation of baseball similar to stickball
• Fuzzball (string theory), an alternative quantum description of black holes
• Fuzzball router
• Fuzzball MUCK

Fuzzballs are theorized by some superstring theory scientists to be the true quantum description of black holes. The theory resolves two intractable problems that classic black holes pose for modern physics:

1. The information paradox wherein the quantum information bound in infalling matter and energy entirely disappears into a singularity; that is, the black hole would undergo zero physical change in its composition regardless of the nature of what fell into it.
2. The singularity at the heart of the black hole, where conventional black hole theory says there is infinite spacetime curvature due to an infinitely intense gravitational field from a region of zero volume. Modern physics breaks down when such parameters are infinite and zero.<!--

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Fuzzball theory replaces the singularity at the heart of a black hole by positing that the entire region within the black hole’s event horizon is actually a ball of strings, which are advanced as the ultimate building blocks of matter and energy. Strings are thought to be bundles of energy vibrating in complex ways in both the three physical dimensions of space as well as in compact directions—extra dimensions interwoven in the quantum foam (also known as spacetime foam).

Fuzzball is a bat-and-ball street game related to baseball, usually formed as a pick-up game, and played in various areas of the United States (especially St. Louis, but also in Chicago where it is called "strikeout", Florida, and South Carolina). The equipment consists of a bat and a tennis ball that has had its outer layer burned or worn off. The rules come from baseball and are modified to fit the situation, i.e. whether it is played indoors or outside. Fuzzball can be played by as few as two players; outside of leagues in St. Louis, the Bevo Area Fuzzball League and the St. Louis Metro Fuzzball League, it exists as a pickup game, which has been successfully transplanted to "players leagues" which play a quasi-legal, quasi-outlaw version in Philadelphia and Northern California ( San Jose and Santa Cruz, specifically). There are also fully official organized leagues for indoor fuzzball in St. Louis. Interest in the game was waning, however, at the turn of the century: by 2004, most serious players were in their 40's, with a decreasing number of new players becoming interested. Many St. Louis locals consider fuzzball to be a minor league training ground for future corkball players.