I think I might have a solution that is slightly more scientifically grounded. How technologically advanced are humans in your story? You mention that in your universe black holes aren't natural constructs, so can humans create them?
How to get rid of a Black Hole.
- Thread starter Secret world leader (shhh)
- Start date
Well, I hate to do this to a random poster, but since it's for a story, make sure it says Rogue when you write it.Secret world leader (shhh) said:
That said, without knowing the exact nature of the world you're in to allow for technological development, here's what I say for somewhere around our level of understanding...
The head of the agency your characters are working for explains that they have three nil-chance possible solutions on the board, and the sooner you leave, the better chance you have of implementing any or all of them as needed.
The first is that of a device used to divert, create, or channel vectors of dark matter fields. Dark matter, being a dense material found to have gravitational properties to an extent, actually holds some sway over the stability of star systems. On the notion that the hole's path is directly in relation to what it's sucking on and what has the most or least resistance gravitationally, changing the 'contours' of space might roll this 'boulder' away from Earth enough for it to escape unharmed. Trying to move it 'down' or 'up away from the rest of the Solar System would also be wise. This machine has been programmed with a new DNA computer, so it should be able to calculate and handle the load.
The second is a more dimensional move. Beyond even the dark matter, there is an energetic force which is possibly linked with the dark matter - though scientists are not fully certain of this - which is commonly labeled as dark energy. This is an energy whose approach to normal space is a bit skewed, as an emission which seems to be also important to the stability of space. The device mentioned before has also the proper aparatus to attempt to use these energies to alter the path of the black hole with effects of space itself. More likely, a direct shot wouold fail miserably, as the hole would swallow it up. So, like with the other idea, changing the path or buffeting it indirectly could cause a change.
The last notion is the most dangerous, so much so that it is likely that even with the micro possibility of escape given with this mission, this is almost certainly a death sentence for the crew. Contained within the ship is a device fashioned by CERN containing quark matter, dark matter, anti-matter, and thermonuclear detonator to power the systems that keep it all contained and steady. Using the DNA computer, it has been postulated that a detonation of these unique materials will have some chance of creating the right spark to send the black hole in another direction...IF it is detonated at the spiral of its intake. No direct action of any sort could possibly harm a black hole, but the right forces at the right time have some sliver of hope.
Good luck and godspeed.
Instead of going to the length of explaining the physics and using some kind of unobtanium device, you could have a micro black hole (say the mass of a small planetoid) as the threat, and then deflect it by propelling a series of big objects (say, most of the asteroid belt for starters) close past it , or leaving a really big ship near it for a couple of years. Gravitational attraction does the rest!Secret world leader (shhh) said:
Obviously you need rather impressive engineering, a lot of time, and the black hole to be moving pretty slow relative to the Solar System to do this, but on the bright side it's a relatively hard sci-fi strategy that could conceivably be used to deflect asteroids [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_impact_avoidance#Asteroid_gravitational_tractor] today with enough warning, so you're using founded principles.
ON an unrelated note, 'The Black Cloud' by Fred Hoyle is a good old-school sci-fi story about an imminent calamitous event (big cosmic gas cloud instead of a black hole) - grab an e-copy if you get stuck and need some inspiration!
No, they're just advanced enough that FTL travel is a very new thing. They do have one of the devices that creates Black Holes and they've built a machine around it to reverse its effects, basically a bomb that creates a White Hole inside the Black Hole...if that makes any sense at allThe Heavenator said:
Hawking radiation Nuff said
(If you don't understand stuff black holes emit lowering it's mass its why there aren't mini black holes everywhere.)
For the bomb idea NO Just No this needs just a lot of space magic.
If you had technology you could just move the entire solar system.
You could try deflecting it with a bomb but the mass required would mean you would have to shoot several stars at it to make a meaningful impact.
(If you don't understand stuff black holes emit lowering it's mass its why there aren't mini black holes everywhere.)
For the bomb idea NO Just No this needs just a lot of space magic.
If you had technology you could just move the entire solar system.
You could try deflecting it with a bomb but the mass required would mean you would have to shoot several stars at it to make a meaningful impact.
Find out why its moving that way. Set those conditions up somewhere else.
That's the only way I can think of.
That's the only way I can think of.
wouldn't work, the wormhole would collapse.Popadoo said:
OT: there is no solution besides space magic or Hawking radiation.
Honestly, it doesn't matter how you stop it. Science fiction usually isn't connected to science. Use anti-matter, wormholes, special kinds of bombs, make it fall into the gravity field of a distant star bigger than the sun. These things don't need to be possible or even sound possible to someone who knows this stuff, it just needs to provide a story that is entertaining and well written to work.
Ok, so here's the plan. We get Morgan Freeman to talk the black hole into submission using is soothing and amazing voice so that it stops moving towards the earth. Then Robert Downey Jr. puts on his iron man suit and moon walk into the black hole. This amount of awesome will surely collapse the vortex on top of itself.
Meanwhile, Gabe Newell and Notch will produce Half-Craft, a combination of Half-life and Minecraft, which is an idea so appealing that upon creation will give Robert Downey Jr. enough strength and will to claw his way out of the imploding supermass, saving the world and giving us a new glorious era in gaming that will erase all console wars.
Thank you, thank you, no applause please. I know my superior intellect will save us all one day.
Meanwhile, Gabe Newell and Notch will produce Half-Craft, a combination of Half-life and Minecraft, which is an idea so appealing that upon creation will give Robert Downey Jr. enough strength and will to claw his way out of the imploding supermass, saving the world and giving us a new glorious era in gaming that will erase all console wars.
Thank you, thank you, no applause please. I know my superior intellect will save us all one day.
Bonus points for Red Dwarfteqrevisited said:
OT:
Other than plot armor for Earth, what FalloutJack said and that twin Black Holes orbit theory I can!t think of anything other that could work. The thing is, do I even have to?
I mean, you already stated you don't intend for that "countermeasure" to work, therefore it could be the desperate last ditch effort and if someone in the know on how black holes work thinks "This bullshit can never work", few pages later he'll see it realy does not and all will be well.
Right?
Necron phasing technology, read up on it.
In case you Don't know what the Necrons are; the necrons are a race of machine-men aliens created in the fictional universe of WH40K (Warhammer 40,000). if you can get your hands on the 'Codex: Necrons' you might want to have a leaf through the book and take a look at the creative way Games workshop can pull kinda interesting stuff out their A$$.
Its a good way to keep with the development of technology in your book (I'm presuming) and still have something awesome to use.
In case you Don't know what the Necrons are; the necrons are a race of machine-men aliens created in the fictional universe of WH40K (Warhammer 40,000). if you can get your hands on the 'Codex: Necrons' you might want to have a leaf through the book and take a look at the creative way Games workshop can pull kinda interesting stuff out their A$$.
Its a good way to keep with the development of technology in your book (I'm presuming) and still have something awesome to use.
This is simple,
Just reverse the polarity of the black hole
Honestly, I don't know. You are asking to change physics itself. Scientist say the gravity well of a black hole is so strong that light itself will bend to its will. With that kind of power the only thing you could do is fight fire with fire. Use another black hole to slingshot the rouge black hole from heading to Earth.
Anything short of that and your dipping deep into science fiction. So lets see.
Black holes are really nothing more than matter condensed into a tiny tiny itty bitty bit of space. Picture the mass (gravity) of everything in the solar system into the size of a marble. I would say, perhaps, I am not positive on the subject, but maybe if you fired an equal amount of anti matter into the black hole. It could neutralize the matter inside of it. This would effectively make the black hole simply disappear.
The general problem with this theory is practicality, which makes it great for the realms of Science Fiction. Antimatter/Matter reaction is 1 to 1 as in for every atom of matter it takes 1 atom of anti-matter to neutralize it. So lets say its a small black hole that indeed has the entire mass of the solar system in it.
That would mean you need 1.992 x 10^30kg of anti-matter. Thats a lot of fucking anti-matter. Maybe you wouldn't need that much as once the mass of the black hole reaches Earth size... perhaps it would no longer be a black hole? I'm not sure.
Science is Fun!
Just reverse the polarity of the black hole
Honestly, I don't know. You are asking to change physics itself. Scientist say the gravity well of a black hole is so strong that light itself will bend to its will. With that kind of power the only thing you could do is fight fire with fire. Use another black hole to slingshot the rouge black hole from heading to Earth.
Anything short of that and your dipping deep into science fiction. So lets see.
Black holes are really nothing more than matter condensed into a tiny tiny itty bitty bit of space. Picture the mass (gravity) of everything in the solar system into the size of a marble. I would say, perhaps, I am not positive on the subject, but maybe if you fired an equal amount of anti matter into the black hole. It could neutralize the matter inside of it. This would effectively make the black hole simply disappear.
The general problem with this theory is practicality, which makes it great for the realms of Science Fiction. Antimatter/Matter reaction is 1 to 1 as in for every atom of matter it takes 1 atom of anti-matter to neutralize it. So lets say its a small black hole that indeed has the entire mass of the solar system in it.
That would mean you need 1.992 x 10^30kg of anti-matter. Thats a lot of fucking anti-matter. Maybe you wouldn't need that much as once the mass of the black hole reaches Earth size... perhaps it would no longer be a black hole? I'm not sure.
Science is Fun!
Religion...? Seems that most people facing an ultimate and certain death turn to religion and hope... maybe a creater of sorts can save the planet?
There's a bit of a bigger problem than that for Antimatter destroying a black hole sadly.Zack Alklazaris said:
At its most basic level, Matter and Antimatter is made of the same stuff. At the level it is compressed to in a black hole, both matter and Antimatter simply become a singularity. There is no matter to be neutralised by Antimatter per se. There is simply the singularity, and everything that goes into the black hole simply makes that singularity denser and possibly larger. If you were to bomb a black hole with that much antimatter, you'd only have the effect of doubling its mass.
It is possibly one of the more believable space magic explanations that could work though. Although, from the sounds of things this bomb or W/E isn't meant to work anyway.
And OP, if that is the case, and this bomb isn't meant to work, then possibly the best thing you could do is make it a flawed concept, then use the flaws in that concept as the reason why it didn't work, so long as that doesn't majorly interfere with the plot.
Black holes obey the laws of gravity and as such, can be curved out of the way. Just put a large planet (say, Jupiter) along its path and watch it sail by. Remember, Black holes are only dangerous when you get sufficiently close to them (within or near their event horizon (or to be on the safe side, within the original stellar radius)), so a minor nudge might just do the trick.
Listen to the man, he knows things. Black holes really aren't as dangerous and all-consuming as they are made out to be.
Unless of course you take into account:
- Incredible friction heating of particles near the black hole
- X-rays and gamma radiation of anything that falls in
- Space doing weird things and moving faster than the speed of light inside the ergosphere (seriously, don't go there)
- Horrible spaghettification of anything within the Roche Limit because of tidal forces
And of course, if the black hole is heavy enough, it pulling the planets out of orbit. But then again, if you can put Jupiter in the way of the black hole, there'd be no problem putting back Earth where it belongs.
Listen to the man, he knows things. Black holes really aren't as dangerous and all-consuming as they are made out to be.
Unless of course you take into account:
- Incredible friction heating of particles near the black hole
- X-rays and gamma radiation of anything that falls in
- Space doing weird things and moving faster than the speed of light inside the ergosphere (seriously, don't go there)
- Horrible spaghettification of anything within the Roche Limit because of tidal forces
And of course, if the black hole is heavy enough, it pulling the planets out of orbit. But then again, if you can put Jupiter in the way of the black hole, there'd be no problem putting back Earth where it belongs.
