Blog Post 6: Infinity and Beyond

Welcome back everyone,

Using all the information we collected in our research, we have calculated energy generated by a black hole per second. We did this using a computer model. The way we did this is because we were testing the various sizes of black holes and comparing it to the amount of energy that they generated. The way we did this was by using various equations developed by scientists to calculate various information about black holes.

First and foremost, we found the amount of time it would take for a black hole to evaporate using the formula:

T = 8.66 * 10^-27(M/g)^3 seconds

Then we divided the total mass of the black hole (our input) by the time it took for it to evaporate we would get the amount of mass that evaporated per second. Then using Einstein’s formula:

E = mc^2

We were then able to find the amount of energy generated by the black hole per second.

We arrived at the conclusion using our computer generated model and found that a black hole with a mass 18,555 kilograms would be able to generate enough energy for the entire world for an entire year.

Critics, of black hole power argue that black holes are extremely difficult to create. However, they are vastly superior to other sources of mass energy like nuclear energy and antimatter. This is because in nuclear fusion or fission, only a small portion of the mass is converted to energy. For antimatter, it is because it is a largely energy inefficient process and containing antimatter is extremely difficult. Most importantly, we have the technology to create micro (Primordial) black holes on earth right now. This can be done using particle accelerators such as the Large Hadron Collider. In the future, we may even think about developing particle accelerators in space. For example, a particle accelerator around the moon would be much better than the large hadron collider.

Black holes have the potential to offer the world a safe, secure and steady source of energy for generations to come.

Dr. Chinmay Patel (PhD in Astrophysics)

Professor at Stanford University

Links:

Ball, Philip (Dec 3, 2013). Could we harness energy from black holes? Retrieved From: <http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20131203-could-black-holes-provide-energy>

Anderson, Ryan (November 19, 2009). Black Hole Drive could power future Starships. Retrieved From: <http://www.universetoday.com/45571/black-hole-drive-could-power-future-starships/>

Jones, Zimmerman, Andrew (2010). What is Hawking Radiation? Retrieved From: < http://physics.about.com/od/astronomy/f/hawkrad.htm>

123HelpMe.com. "Black Holes: The Power Source for Future Space Travel?" Retrieved From: <http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=43865>

Whiting, Jim. (2011). Mysteries of the universe: Black Holes. New York, USA. Publisher: Creative Education. Book.

DeGrasse, Tyson. (2007). Galactic Engines. Death by Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries. (pg. 268-274). New York, USA. Publisher: Norton. Book.

Begelman, Mitchell. (2010). Gravity Triumphant. Gravity’s Fatal Attraction: Black Holes in the Universe. (pg. 1-22). New York, USA. Publisher: Cambridge University Press. Book.

#Chinmay