Scientists at the University of Southampton have created in the lab an analog of the so-called “black hole bomb,” a concept that for decades seemed like science fiction. While the experiment does not threaten our existence, it sheds light on how black holes interact with energy and space-time.
From theory to practice
The idea of a “black hole bomb” dates back to 1969 thanks to physicist Roger Penrose. He suggested that rotating black holes could become a source of enormous energy through the “superradiation” effect – when waves reflecting off the event horizon are amplified to form an explosion-like chain process. In 1971, Iakov Zeldovych proposed a rotating cylinder experiment to test this phenomenon. This experiment was called the “Suniaev–Zeldovych effect”, but it could not be realized due to the imperfect technology of that time.
During Quarantine 2020, a team led by Professor Hendrik Ulbricht recreated this effect in miniature. The professor constructed a unit from a rotating aluminum cylinder and magnetic coils.
“At the height of COVID-19 everything was closed and I was bored, so I decided to create something. The result of the experiment excited me so much that it saved me during the quarantine,” the scientist admitted.
Impressive results
The experiment was to “pump” the system with low-frequency electromagnetic waves and observe how the rotation of the cylinder amplified their energy. Surprisingly, the unit not only confirmed the Zeldovych effect, but also showed magnetic field enhancement even without additional intervention.
“If you drop a low-frequency electromagnetic wave on a rotating cylinder, who would have thought you’d receive back more than you dropped? It’s absurd, but it’s a fact. And it’s absolutely amazing!” – commented Vitor Cardoso, Professor of Physics at the University of Lisbon.
On our way to unraveling the Universe
Although the experiment does not use a real black hole, it simulates processes near its event horizon. In particular, the study helps us understand how black holes “recycle” the energy of neighboring particles. This could be the key to understanding dark matter, an invisible substance that makes up 27% of the mass of the Universe.
“We generate a signal from noise, like in the black hole bomb theory,” Ulbricht explains.
Scientists are now working to observe the spontaneous birth of waves in a vacuum, a step that will require incredibly precise technology. But nowadays, this experiment is not just an interesting physics trick. It brings us closer to answering questions that have remained science fiction for centuries: how black holes “live”, what dark matter is, and whether it is possible to travel through space using the energy of the most extreme objects in the universe.
Previously, we explained how stellar-mass black holes were found.
According to newscientist.com
