Black Hole Drive
We are surrounded by technology inspired by nature, from honeycomb structures to Velcro. Similarly, we can look above to the stars for inspiration. Over a decade ago, I learned about relativistic jets - high-speed jets of matter that eject from galactic centers. Relativistic jets are the result of black holes feasting on nearby stars. Particles are shot out at velocities close to the speed of light. The black hole generates its own tightly wound magnetic field that ensures these particles travel in a highly focused jets that extend thousands of light-years away from the galaxy. These are the qualities of an incredibly efficient rocket engine - focused jet and high exhaust velocity. Can we replicate such a configuration on a small scale? The result would usher a complete breakthrough in propulsion.
Black hole drives have been previously proposed. These are sometimes referred as "Hawking" drives after the late Stephen Hawking who helped understand better the way in which black holes release energy. Such drives have remained largely theoretical concepts since we know what a black hole does, but we don't really know what it is.
Nevertheless, if we set out to design such an engine, the first step, surely enough, is to recreate a small black hole in the lab. Fortunately, the folks over at LHC (Large Hadron Collider - a high-tech research facility in Europe) are working on this very task. The current theory indicates that by smashing two particles at very high-speed we can create a temporary Quantum Black Hole. If created, this tiny black hole would instantly evaporate. But just maybe, one day, technology may be available to confine this tiny black hole to a single location and feed it matter so instead of vanishing - it grows to a slightly larger size and reaches a stable state. Let me reiterate that modern physics does not allow for something like this to happen, but then again, I am just a caveman talking about the wheel.
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But if we do reach a stable state, we may utilize this ignited black-hole to power a space-based rocket engine. There will be a total of two plasma jets released from this black-hole, one traveling forward and one traveling backward. The backward-moving jet can be released into space - this is what generates thrust. The forward jet travels into the inside of the engine where it slows down within an electrical grid, and in the process, produces electrical power for the engine and spacecraft. I highly recommend checking out this excellent animation of the Black hole drive in action.
Perhaps, the largest advantage of a Black Hole drive is that it's not picky about fuel, it can literally convert any matter into energy. Just imagine, a highly efficient interstellar rocket that can be fueled by garbage - certainly opens up some really interesting applications!
Defense Autonomous Systems | T-Shaped, Generalized Specialist
2 年Fascinating! Assuming the two jet streams are roughly equal mass/second and velocity, is there a theoretical way to null out the forward stream's equal/opposite thrust effect so that forward acceleration may occur?
Services @ Regie.ai | GenAI, Sales, Consulting | I love helping teams win - and playing outside.
2 年Great share Alex