What Is A Black Hole And What Could We Do With Its Power

Black holes have captivated the imagination ever since they were first theorized by Albert Einstein. Scientists have found ways to trap particles and even light inside a black hole. Each time a test is run, they find a new connection, that helps us better understand a black hole's mysterious power. In 1936, a scientist proposed a model of a black hole as a rotating, amount. The sheer power unleashed by a small black hole could change our world for the better. The question is how much power would we gain if we created a black hole, and how would we use it?

Table Of Content:

• What Is A Black Hole?

• How Is A Black Hole Formed?

• How Is A Black Hole Measured?

• Could We Determine The Power Of A Black Hole?

• What Is The "Threshold Mass" Of A Black Hole For?

• What Do We Know About Black Hole Formation?

• What Could We Do With The Power Of A Black Hole?

What Is A Black Hole?

A black hole is a large gravitationally-bound body of mass, that absorbs all the light and matter, that approaches it and then prevents certain of these particles from escaping. The phrase "black hole" has a particular meaning in astronomy. As far as most of us are concerned, a black hole is any celestial object, that is both dark and mysterious and gravitationally powerful enough to capture our planets and stars. The only reason, that most black holes are dark is that the particles that make up the light simply get absorbed, rather than reflected, inside these structures. In science, we have learned, that there are two major types of black holes, each with a different characteristic.

• Stellar Mass Black Hole: A stellar mass black hole is formed when an extremely massive star dies after a long period of living. The gravitational forces of the star are so strong, that it continues to grow after its fusion energy has been exhausted. When this happens, the inward forces of the star are so strong, that no light, not even the light emitted by the dying star, can escape.

• Supermassive Black Hole: A supermassive black hole is created, when a star much less massive, than our Sun collapses under its own gravity. The gravitational forces are so strong, that it quickly tears the star apart, leaving a black hole. As the supermassive object grows, it is able to capture nearby particles, and eventually, stars and planets. Not all the matter, that falls into the black hole is consumed, however, so the object still has some mass, when it is finally stable.

How Is A Black Hole Formed?

When massive stars live fast lives, they die young exploding as supernovae, or collapsing into black holes. The stars, that are born this way are typically between 8 and 12 solar masses and only a few hundred years old.

Supernovae are powerful explosions resulting from a dying star collapsing, but they are relatively rare one per 30-40 stars. They are so powerful, that even the strong gravitational forces of a black hole can't stop them. The black hole is simply a point of gravitational focus for the energy of the exploding star. So, while the black hole can't destroy the star itself, it can channel the stellar energy into a more manageable form.

How Is A Black Hole Measured?

The mass of a black hole can be measured by the amount of matter, that it can capture. For example, the smaller black hole predicted by theory should only be able to capture the matter of a single solar-mass star. As the theory stands now, a black hole could theoretically capture a star as small as 1.4 solar masses. The largest black hole in existence today is a billion times bigger, with a mass of about a billion solar masses. There is no measurement to determine how large a black hole is, but this is the ultimate limit to how much mass a black hole can have.

Could We Determine The Power Of A Black Hole?

The strength of a black hole's gravitational field is directly proportional to the amount of mass, that it possesses. The potential energy of a black hole is the mass of the matter it could theoretically capture. So, the more matter a black hole can capture, the stronger it gets. The more matter a black hole can't capture, the weaker it gets.

This relationship suggests, that we should be able to determine the strength of a black hole by capturing as much mass as possible. The question then becomes: how much mass could we capture if we tried? The energy required to capture any more mass would be released as a potent explosion, that would render the planet and its people, extinct.

What Is The "Threshold Mass" Of A Black Hole For?

There is a "threshold mass" that all matter must have before it can be absorbed into a black hole. Nobody knows for sure what this is, or why it exists, but it is theorized that the presence of matter with enough mass below the threshold value would prevent the matter from being absorbed.

Theoretical calculations suggest, that if we could figure out a way to increase the mass of a black hole without causing an explosion, we could use it to our advantage. The problem with this is that we don't actually know of any method of increasing the mass of a black hole, we only know that it must be less than a billion solar masses.

What Do We Know About Black Hole Formation?

We know that a black hole must have a mass greater than 3 solar masses. The gravitational force of a black hole is strong enough, that even light cannot escape.

We know that a black hole's density is such that nothing can be in it, even light. The vacuum of space itself is a perfect insulator. No known particle can move through it, even at near absolute zero. This is why no known particle can escape a black hole.

We know that a black hole should have a charge, but no net charge can be sustained in a system where matter is simultaneously flowing into it and being torn apart by its gravitational field.

We know that a black hole should be able to capture particles, but that they should not accumulate into stars, planets, or any other type of celestial object, because that would violate the laws of conservation of energy, momentum and mass.

What Could We Do With The Power Of A Black Hole?

We know that a black hole can be a powerful tool, if we can harness its energy. The question remains: what would be the consequences of using it for our purposes?

The most obvious use would be as a weapon. If a black hole could be created and placed in a stable orbit, it would provide unlimited energy for an indefinite amount of time. A large number of them in orbit around a planet would provide a potent, virtually unstoppable, defense against any army that attempted to cross the planet's surface.

Another use would be for interstellar travel. If we had a black hole, that could take us to the nearest star system, we could vastly increase the rate at which we travel to other stars. This would allow us to colonize a wider area of the galaxy and it would cut down the travel time between systems considerably.

A third use would be a way to tap into the limitless energy of the universe.