Electromagnetic Black Hole Created!

Warped

Warped

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Researchers have simulated a mini black hole in the lab, though luckily not the kind that could swallow up the Earth.

This pseudo black hole captures only light, not mass.

"The device we created is not a real black hole, but only a device to mimic the black-hole effect," said researcher Tie Jun Cui, a professor at Southeast University in China. "Actually, the device can trap and absorb the electromagnetic waves which hit the device. Hence we call it as the Electromagnetic Black Hole."

Cui's creation, first reported by Wired Science, is a far cry from the average cosmic variety of black hole, which is an object so dense it absorbs any mass or light that comes within a certain radius of it. The mini black hole in the lab is not nearly so powerful, though it can simulate a black hole's effects when it comes to swallowing light, also known as electromagnetic radiation.

Cui and colleague Qiang Cheng built their ersatz black hole out of circuit board, by linking 60 concentric circular layers of board etched with copper patterns that interact with electromagnetic waves. The result is a device that absorbs all incoming light in the microwave range of the spectrum.

"The electromagnetic black hole can only trap and absorb the incoming electromagnetic waves," Cui wrote in an e-mail. "It cannot trap and absorb other matters as the real black hole."

Another facet of a real black hole that the simulated one does not share - thankfully - is the ability to eat up the Earth: Any true black hole of considerable mass created in a lab could pose a serious risk.

"The device does not have any danger," Cui reassured.

The scientists suggest their invention might be used to harvest energy from the sun by absorbing light rays.
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http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/091027-st-mini-black-hole.html#commentForm

really cool, this could make cloaking devices a little bit easier plus we're just one more step away from complete and total annihilation!
 
Interesting idea. Now if only they could do that for the visible spectrum...
 
Wanted Bob said:
Interesting idea. Now if only they could do that for the visible spectrum...
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An object that would absorb visible light, would just be perfectly black, not invisible...
 
AKIRA said:
what's going on with the LHC??
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my only guess is that its just like the Black Mesa Incident but they covered it up well. also i bet we ****ed up royally and thats why they stopped
 
Doesn't it seem awfully dark outside guys? I mean really, hey what's tha-
 
How would "swallowing up the Earth" look like, if they managed to create a real black hole? Would everything be gone in an instant?
 
AKIRA said:
what's going on with the LHC??
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According to some actual theories civilizations from the future are sabotaging our efforts to build the LHC in order to save the world. I actually ran in to someone that believes this.

In reality they did get the first set of tests complete after their breakdown last year. Looks like sometime in November it should be up and running from what I recall.
 
Didn't Stephen Hawking say that he was wrong about there being black holes?
 
Couldn't this be used as radiation shielding for space and stuff if you manage to extend the types of radiation it could absorb?
 
^^Yeah that's a great idea. It would also be good if such a shield was used for nuclear reactors, to absorb radiation and convert it to electricity increasing the efficiency of the reactor.
 
i know this is really far fetched but could criminals use such technology when cleaning up a crime scene??
 
Can it be used to absorb the stupidity from Hl2.net?
 
Warped. Every post is like a razor cut to my soul.
 
Remus said:
^^Yeah that's a great idea. It would also be good if such a shield was used for nuclear reactors, to absorb radiation and convert it to electricity increasing the efficiency of the reactor.
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The primary radiation emitted by nuclear reactors (both fission and fusion) is in the form of neutrons. This could not be used to absorb neutrons.

Secondly, since it depends on an electromagnetic meta-material, it uses quite a lot of electricity to begin with.


EDIT: Also, the media's use of "black hole" in this context is so blatantly absurd that it was bound to result in idiots like Warped posting it all over the internet without any idea of what is actually being done here.

This technology is most similar to the "Invisibility Cloak" which got a lot of press last year (and which shouldn't have been called an "Invisibility Cloak", in the first place). Meta-materials are an exciting new field in engineering which allow us to bend electromagnetic radiation (such as light, x-rays, radio waves, etc.) using electromagnetic fields.

The most immediate applications will be in communications and electronic components that are dependent on redirecting electromagnetic radiation.
 
Warped said:
i know this is really far fetched but could criminals use such technology when cleaning up a crime scene??
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csi-miami.jpg



I

*glasses*

don't think so

YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!


theotherguy said:
The primary radiation emitted by nuclear reactors (both fission and fusion) is in the form of neutrons. This could not be used to absorb neutrons.

Secondly, since it depends on an electromagnetic meta-material, it uses quite a lot of electricity to begin with.
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Oh well. However I suppose it could still be used to protect against radiation whitin the electromagnetic spectrum, gamma rays, X-rays, etc.
 
delusional said:
Couldn't this be used as radiation shielding for space and stuff if you manage to extend the types of radiation it could absorb?
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Cosmic radiation is made mostly of very heavy, positively charged particles moving at near light speed. It is not electromagnetic radiation, but particle radiation.

That said, a meta-material could in principle be used to deflect and redirect some types of cosmic radiation if it had significant power and the right properties. One could imagine, for instance, a meta-material shield that redirects positively charged particles towards a sink in a part of the ship far away from the crew, and negatively charged particles in another direction. However, current meta-materials don't have this kind of power, and we'd be much better off relying on conventional electro-magnets or static electric fields.
 
Wait. Warped was being serious? Get the **** outta here.

And theotherguy, if I were gay I would be totally turned on by your intelligence.
 
Warped said:
i know this is really far fetched but could criminals use such technology when cleaning up a crime scene??
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No all they have to do is take a photo of the scene and enhance it until they start to see back through time to when the criminal was there.
 
No Limit said:
Wait. Warped was being serious? Get the **** outta here.

And theotherguy, if I were gay I would be totally turned on by your intelligence.
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its my birthday i can do what i want
 
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