It sounds like something from a science fiction thriller: a “black hole
bomb” capable of building up massive energy until it explodes. However,
a team of physicists have created the world’s first working model. Black
Hole Physics Thankfully, this version was built in a lab and produced only
a small pop. But the experiment has […]
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#^Scientists Just Built a “Black Hole Bomb” & It Actually WorkedIt sounds like something from a science fiction thriller: a “black hole bomb” capable of building up massive energy until it explodes. However, a team of physicists have created the world’s first working model.
Black Hole Physics
Thankfully, this version was built in a lab and produced only a small pop. But the experiment has confirmed a long-standing idea in black hole physics and raised questions about how such power might one day be harnessed or misused.
The
experiment didn’t involve a real black hole. Instead, the scientists set out to recreate the conditions that might exist around one. They focused on a strange but well-known effect called superradiance, where radiation, when it hits a spinning object, comes away with more energy than it started with.
A Controlled Explosion Confirms the Science
To test the theory, researchers at the University of Glasgow built a small-scale model. At its core was a 4cm aluminium cylinder spinning at high speed. Around it, they placed layers of rotating metal coils designed to act like mirrors, reflecting magnetic fields back into the cylinder.
As the magnetic waves bounced back and forth, they were amplified each time. Eventually, the build-up became too much, and the setup burst in a small but very real explosion.
Professor Danielle Faccio, who co-authored the study, said:
“[It was] more of a ‘pop’ than an actual explosive ‘bang’. If one scaled this up in size, the ‘bang’ would become more serious.”
The team described how the amplified magnetic signals reached such a high level that electrical components began to fail. “The electrical components in our setup were literally exploding!” Faccio added.
Unlocking the Physics of Black Holes
At the heart of the experiment is a principle that’s been part of
black hole theory for decades. When radiation approaches a rotating black hole, it can gain energy and escape more powerful than it arrived. Scientists have long believed that if you trapped this radiation, using mirrors or some kind of surrounding structure, it would keep bouncing, growing stronger until the system explodes.
Until now, this idea had remained purely theoretical.
Could It Be Used in the Real World?
While the lab-based black hole bomb is a harmless model, the implications are far-reaching. Faccio said it’s “hard to see” how the device could be weaponised in its current form, but admitted the idea of scaling it up isn’t far-fetched.
In fact, similar energy amplification techniques are already used in devices like wind turbines.
But Professor Vito Cardoso, a superradiance expert from Instituto Superior Técnico in Portugal, warned that powerful technologies always come with risk.
“Any piece of technology with immense power can always be dangerous,’ he said. “In this particular case, a bad regulation, like nuclear plants, could lead to overproduction of radiation and therefore to ean xplosion.”
He also noted that nothing stops a more advanced civilisation from trying to use the real version, involving an actual black hole, as an energy source.
“We can easily imagine a slightly more advanced civilisation than us using something like this with a black hole!”
For now, the black hole bomb remains a scientific demonstration. But it’s a reminder of how close researchers are to turning deep-space theories into real-world applications and why that power must be handled carefully.
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Scientists Just Built a “Black Hole Bomb” & It Actually Worked appeared first on
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