Slashdot Mirror
Lab-Made Fireball May Be a Black Hole
MoogMan writes "BBC News reports that a lab fireball may be a black hole.
From the article: "A fireball created in a US particle accelerator has the characteristics of a black hole, a physicist has said. The Brown researcher thinks the particles are disappearing into the fireball's core and reappearing as thermal radiation, just as matter falls into a black hole and comes out as "Hawking" radiation." More information available from the NewScientist article (subscription required)."
I can't be the only one to think that creating black holes on or even near earth is a really bad idea.
However, even if the ball of plasma is a black hole, it is not thought to pose a threat. At these energies and distances, gravity is not the dominant force in a black hole.
Obligatory Soundbite Catchphrase
It was a short story in N-Space called "The Hole Man" by Larry Niven. Here karma karma, come here karma
Haven't these people ever seen a movie?
The Brown researcher thinks the particles are disappearing into the fireball's core and reappearing as thermal radiation, just as matter falls into a black hole and comes out as "Hawking" radiation.
When I eat, food disappears into my mouth and then re-appears in the toilet as a glorious piece of poo. Whoop-de-doo.That'd be the short story The Hole Man by Larry Niven. It won the 1975 Hugo for short story, and is included in his collection of short stories, "N-Space."
Read Earth by David Brin. Its a book about what happens when some people try to do just that, and the hole gets out of control and falls to the center of the earth.