In space, there are objects called black holes, and scientists think humans could use them like batteries to get energy. These black holes are very powerful, and nothing can escape from them because their pull is so strong. Now, scientists have some ideas about how we might be able to use the energy from these black holes.
One way to use a black hole as a battery is to charge it up. It’s a bit like charging a regular battery, but instead of using electricity, we use particles that have an electric charge. These charged particles would be sent into the black hole, and as more and more particles go in, the black hole would create its own electric field. When this field becomes strong enough to push away new particles, we can say the black hole is “fully charged.” The energy we get from this process comes from the mass of the particles and the electric field.
Scientists did some calculations and found that this method could be about 25% efficient. This means that a quarter of the mass we put into the black hole could be turned into energy. That’s a lot more efficient than other things we use, like atomic bombs.
To get the energy out, scientists would use a process called superradiance. This is based on the idea that the space around a spinning black hole gets dragged along because of its strong pull. When waves, like gravitational or electromagnetic waves, enter this region, they can get deflected with more energy. This deflection process turns the black hole’s rotational energy into waves, which we can then use as energy.
Another way to use black holes as energy sources involves something called Schwinger pairs. These are pairs of particles that can appear when there’s an electric field. If we have a fully charged black hole, the electric field near it might be so strong that it creates an electron and a positron. The positron, having the opposite charge, would be pushed away from the black hole. We could collect this particle and use it as energy.
While it’s not certain if we will ever really use black holes as batteries, scientists are trying to understand more about how these strange objects work. They see black holes as places where two important things in science, quantum mechanics, and gravity, have to come together. By thinking about getting energy from black holes, scientists hope to learn more about these fascinating objects in space.
