Black holes. They are an amazing bit of cosmological mayhem, even religiously — and jokingly — referred to as a place where god divided by zero. They represent the omnipotent force of the universe in which we live, a place where the laws of nature are abolished, time slows and eventually stops — or at least breaks, space is curved infinitely and beyond our ability to comprehend, mass can no longer be measured as it races off the high end of the scale, and even light is prohibited from shining. They are the the glue that holds galaxies together. They swallow stars on scales well beyond anything we can imagine, even to the degree of consuming stellar matter equal to billions of suns.
Because of their quantum properties, however, black holes can actually create energy despite their tendency to consume anything and everything that falls within the sphere of their immense gravitational field. In fact, the discovery of their energetic properties is something for which we can thank Stephen Hawking, and that is why this radiative expulsion is called Hawking radiation.
Why all the talk of these astronomical wonders? They are so distant from us that there is little chance in our lifetime of ever observing one, right? And even more importantly, we will never be able to tap the near infinite energy available via its energetic mechanics, correct?
For the first time ever, humans have created the first artificial black hole, and it happened in a laboratory in New York. That’s right, poppets. We crafty Americans have once again accomplished the impossible.
Lasting for only 10 million billion billionths of a second, the artificial singularity (a place where the laws of physics break down) was created using a particle accelerator at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York. Two beams of gold nuclei were shot at each other at the speed of light. Collisions of this type break down the nuclei of the matter used into even smaller particles, quarks and gluons, which are part of the most elementary building blocks of all known matter. Under the conditions in this experiment, those basic particles formed a ball of plasma that absorbed all the other particles resulting from the experiment.
Voila! A black hole.
Despite its very short life, this particular spacial abnormality generated heat 300 million times hotter than the surface of our own sun. Imagine the implications if we were able to harness that kind of Hawking radiation. It’s staggering to consider, although it’s equally troubling to contemplate the repercussions of such a thing growing out of control right here on our own planet. But never let fear inhibit progress lest we stand still or even move backward.
This is a truly phenomenal event despite its brief life and minuscule size. As Ed Shuryak, a physicist at Stony Brook University in New York, said, “It’s very useful in that it will inspire thinking in that direction. But it’s going to be another thing to see if it produces any fruit.” Therein lies the heart of the matter: it would take tremendous technological and scientific advancement to harness the potential of such a man-made creation, and to do it safely with absolutely no risk of harm to the planet would be of the utmost concern.
Despite all other considerations, nonetheless, this is a fascinating and utterly beguiling accomplishment that has far-reaching impact, and I speak not only of energy production but of a great many other areas, including theoretical physics, the nature of the universe, time and time travel, interstellar travel, and the list goes on. I can not tell you how absolutely exciting this is.
It is, to coin a gay phrase, utterly fabulous.
On a related note… If you’ve never read The Krone Experiment by Dr. J. Craig Wheeler, a physicist, you will want to both read it and see the new independent film adaptation of the work. I will not spoil the book for those who have not read it as I did almost two decades ago, but I will say that it’s related to this black hole experiment and is both intriguing and scientifically accurate (in that he’s a physics Ph.D. and knows what he’s talking about). I intend to see the film version at my earliest convenience. In the meantime, I can not recommend enough that you read the book (although I can not vouch for the movie). It captivated me in my late teens and ignited within me an even greater fire of interest in physics than that with which I was already cursed at the time. Like the works of Carl Sagan, Wheeler ensured I filled my mind with both the fantastic and factual, and I believe you will also enjoy his various writings, but I strongly suggest you start with this one.