Strings from Gravity

The quantum properties of black holes are compared with those of elementary and composite particles. As argued before by this author, it is desirable to search for a theory of black holes in which quantum mechanical "information" is not drained away by the horizon, but such a theory requires a drastically new approach in formulating general coordinate transformations with horizons in a quantum theory. It is subsequently shown that a closed string with string tension T = 1/8πG reproduces in a remarkable way the horizon fluctuations so that a new geometric interpretation of strings is suggested.