Scientists at Columbia University in New York City (Columbia) have proposed a new way to get energy from black holes that can reach 150 percent efficiency. Researchers say this is a good source of energy for the future development of human civilization in outer space.
The study’s first author, Columbia researcher Luca Comisso, said: “Black holes are usually surrounded by a ‘hot Soup‘ of plasma with a magnetic field. Our theory suggests that when the magnetic lines of force within this magnetic field repeatedly break and reconnect, the plasma is accelerated to the point of generating negative energy, and we use this property to extract energy from the black hole.”
Their theory is based on the existence of a region of the energy layer (ergosphere, also called the moving circle) beyond the event horizon, the virtual boundary of the black hole (a boundary within which no matter can escape), which scientists have created.
Within the ergosphere, magnetic lines of force constantly undergo disconnection and reconnection, and in this scenario, plasma is accelerated to near the speed of light and thrown out. The direction of motion of the plasma is also inconsistent, with some moving in the direction of the black hole’s rotation and others moving in the opposite direction. In this chaotic state, the plasma will accumulate negative energy.
When the plasma accumulates negative energy, the black hole will lose energy, Comosso said. “It’s like the reasoning that a person can lose weight by eating candy with negative energy. It sounds a little strange, but that’s what would happen in the energy level, a region where space-Time is spinning so fast that objects inside are driven to spin with the black hole.”
“Our calculations suggest that this process can be 150 percent efficient, which is more efficient than any power plant on Earth.” Collaborating researcher Felipe Asenjo, professor of physics at the Universidad Adolfo Ibanez in Chile, said, “An efficiency of more than 100 percent is possible because the process of plasma escape is the black hole leaking energy continuously. “
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