A remarkable prediction of Einstein ‘s theory of universal relativity – the theory that connects space, time and gravity – is that there is a lot of energetic energy available for tapping.
For the past 50 years, scientists have been trying to come up with ways to spread this power. Nobel laureate physicist Roger Penrose argued that the breakdown of a material can draw energy from a black hole; Stephen Hawking suggested that black holes could release energy through oceanic mechanical emissions; although Roger Blandford and Roman Znajek proposed electromagnetic torque as the main agent of energy extraction.
Now, in a study published in the journal Corporate Review D., physicists Luca Comisso from Columbia University and Felipe Asenjo from Universidad Adolfo Ibanez in Chile, discovered a new way to extract energy from black holes by breaking and reversing magnetic field lines near the horizon the event, the point from which nothing, not even light. escape the gravity pull of the black hole.
“Black holes are usually surrounded by a hot‘ broth ’of plasma granules carrying a magnetic field,” said Luca Comisso, a research scientist at Columbia University and the first author of the study.
“Our theory shows that, when magnetic field lines disconnect and reconnect, just in the right way, they can accelerate plasma particles to negative energy and a lot of black hole energy can be absorbed. -mach. “
This discovery could allow astronauts to better estimate black hole spinning, drive black hole energy emissions, and could even provide an energy source for the needs of advanced civilization, Comisso said.
Comisso and Asenjo built their theory on the basis that the recombination of magnetic fields accelerates plasma particles in two different directions. One plasma current is pushed against the spinning of the black hole, while the other is directed in the direction of the spinning and can escape the black hole shear, which allows out power if the plasma swallowed by the black hole has negative energy.
“It’s like one could lose weight by eating candy with negative calories,” said Comisso, who explained that black hole actually loses energy by eating negative energy items. “This might sound weird,” he said, “but it can happen in an area called ergosphere, where the space-time continuum rotates so fast that everything spins in the same direction as the black hole. “
Within the ergosphere, magnetic reconnection is so great that the plasma grains are accelerated to a speed approaching the speed of light.
Asenjo, professor of physics at the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez and coauthor of the study, explained that the relatively high distance between captured and escaped plasma currents allows the proposed process to produce large amounts of energy out of the black hole.
“We calculated that a plasma energy process can reach an efficiency of 150 percent, much higher than any power plant operating on Earth,” Asenjo said. “It is possible to achieve an efficiency greater than 100 percent because black holes emit energy, which is freely given to the plasma escaping from the black hole.”
The energy extraction process that Comisso and Asenjo are already operating may be in a large number of black holes. Perhaps that is what is driving the flames of black holes – powerful explosions of radiation found from Earth.
“Our greater knowledge of how magnetic reconnection occurs near the black hole may be crucial in guiding our current and future definition of telescope observation of holes. black, such as those with the Horizon Event Telescope, “Asenjo said.
While it may sound like science fiction material, mining energy from black holes could be the answer to our future energy needs.
“Thousands or millions of years from now, humanity may be able to live around a black hole without harnessing energy from stars,” Comisso said. “It’s definitely a technological problem. If we look at physics, there’s nothing to stop it.”
The study, magnetic reconnection as a means of extracting energy from rotating black holes, was funded by the Windows on the Universe initiative of the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the Chilean National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development.
Vyacheslav (Slava) Lukin, program director at NSF, said the Foundation aims to capture new theoretical efforts based on finishing ideas at facilities such as the EHT, bringing together theoretical physics and observational astronomy under one roof.
“We are looking forward to the potential translation of esoteric-like studies of black hole astrophysics into the treatment area,” Lukin said.
“The ideas and concepts discussed in this work are very interesting,” said Vyacheslav (Slava) Lukin, program director at the National Science Foundation, who said NSF aims to make new theoretical efforts based on concluding observations, combining theoretical physics and observational astronomy under one roof.
“We look forward to the potential translation of esoteric-like studies of black hole astrophysics into the treatment area,” he said.
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