Extreme Physics via X-rays from Black Holes and `Neutron' Stars

A combination of microchannel plate optics and a 32x32 pixel microcalorimeter would allow the successor to the Rossi XTE to explore new domains of spectroscopic timing in a MIDEX class mission. With ~10 times the area and ~100 times the spectral resolution of the PCA (and 10 times that of silicon detectors) such a mission would be able to explore redshifts and plasma conditions in weak line features over a wide range of celestial sources. This would allow several tests of basic physics, both QED/QCD and GR.