A team of physicists has created the first-ever model of a so-called “black hole bomb.” This device demonstrates how to generate a powerful “explosion” of energy using the principle of black hole physics: each time, the energy wave becomes stronger and stronger until everything “explodes.”
In real black holes, this could lead to an explosion with the force of a supernova. In the laboratory version, an aluminum cylinder and magnetic fields were used instead of a black hole. During the experiment, the device actually exploded, although the researchers do not call it a real explosion.
“During testing, some electronic components literally exploded,” admitted Professor Daniele Faccio of the University of Glasgow, co-leader of the study. “But it was more of a blunder than a disaster.”
However, scientists note that scaling up the system could make the effect much more powerful.
The key to this technology is the excessive radiation effect, in which energy is transferred from a rotating object to radiation — similar to how you can spin a carousel simply by standing on it.
“In simple terms: if you send very low-frequency sound or electromagnetic waves to a rotating cylinder, certain modes of oscillation will return with greater energy,” explained Professor Vitor Cardoso from the Higher Technical Institute of Portugal. “In other words, energy is transferred from rotating objects to radiation.”
Since the closest black hole to Earth is located approximately 1,500 light-years away, it was practically impossible to test the idea of a “black hole bomb” in real conditions. However, researchers have experimentally proven for the first time that the physics underlying this idea actually works.
This means that scientists can now not only model but also controllably reproduce the unique processes that typically occur near black holes, rethinking the processes of cosmic energy and gravitational physics.
According to Professor Faccio,, such experiments could help in the future to use rotation to generate energy, for example in wind turbines or space engines. However, as Professor Vitor Cardoso, an expert on excessive radiation, warns, “any technology with great potential can be dangerous.”
So does this mean that humanity is on the verge of creating a real black hole bomb? Not yet. But, as researchers note, this is entirely possible for more advanced civilizations in space.
