How Advanced Races of Intelligent Beings Could Live in Black Holes
As a species, we all contemplate the
existence of extra-terrestrial civilizations living in the far reaches
of the universe, and we imagine that they have mind-bogging technology
that we can’t even being to drum up using our collective imagination. So
far though, there have been no clear indicators (well, depending on
who you ask) that there is anything beyond homosapiens, which is equal
parts depressing and terrifying. After all, if aliens were real, surely
there would be some clear signs of their existence, right? Well, there
are all sorts of theories put forth in the Fermi paradox that
postulate why there may be no signs…everything ranging from our
technology being so basic compared to theirs that we are unable to pick
up whatever radio signals they have sent out into the abyss, to ET’s
knowing we are here, but choosing not to reach out to us to avoid
hindering our progress. However, a new theory has been put forth that,
frankly, makes all of the alternatives seem kind of lame.
Earlier this year, astronomers announced a colossal find (quite literally, colossal): a series of ‘ultra-massive’ black holes at
the center of many distant galaxies. Each of of them are more than ten
times the size of our solar system in diameter – with event horizons
stretching out more than five times beyond the orbit of Pluto. Such
black holes are far larger (and much more massive) than anything ever
predicted in the past. One of the largest, which lies at the center of
an egg-shaped galaxy more than 335 million light-years away (called NGC 4889), has the mass of more than 21 billion suns combined. Another behemoth is at the galactic center of NGC 3842,
which is 331 million light-years away. This one contains the mass of
9.7 billion suns. In comparison, the supermassive black hole at the
heart of the Milky Way; Sagittarius A* – contains the mass of about 4.1
million solar masses, with a surface area extending no more than 17
light-hours (120 AU) across.
Although unexpected, these black holes presented some interesting
questions. Namely, how in the heck did they become so massive?
Typically, black holes are formed following the gravitational collapse
of a massive star, but they can become significantly larger from
consuming stars and other interstellar materials. And then there are
galactic collisions, where two central black holes collide and merge –
before becoming exponentially more massive (the event horizon also
increases in size, in this scenario). However, no supermassive black
hole this massive have ever been discovered before in the past.
Now – as we’ve touched on before (in
one of our articles about what would happen to you if you were sucked
into a black hole and were somehow able to survive being ripped apart),
we’ve noted that the surface of a black hole becomes less extreme the
larger the black hole is (in surface area, instead of mass). So
hypothetically, if we were able to find a supermassive black hole the
size of our solar system, it would be possible for there to be a
‘stable’ area within the event horizon, which would theoretically allow
stars or planets to orbit the central singularity WITHOUT being torn into a flurry of subatomic particles.
In particular, there is a certain type of black hole that is ideal for this sort of thing. The inner workings ofReissner-Nordström black holes,
which are both or charged and rotating, have been studied by Vyacheslav
Dokuchaey, a Russian Cosmologist from Moscow’s “Institute for Nuclear
Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences.” According to him, not only could a planet remain in a stable orbit within
the active galactic nuclei – or the ‘inner Cauchy horizon’ of the black
hole (where the fabric of space-time becomes somewhat ‘normal’ again) –
but also “living inside the eternal black holes is possible in
principle, if these black holes are rotating or charged and massive
enough for weakening the tidal forces and radiation of gravitational
waves to acceptable level.”
Now, when I originally read this story, the first thought that crept
up into my mind was about how such a species would retain energy. As you
all know (or at least I hope you know), the sun is our primary source
of energy. Without it, our plants would be unable to undergo
photosynthesis, killing most of the plants on Earth, before ultimately
killing us when we succumb to starvation. So where would an advanced
civilization living within the confines of a black hole derive energy
from?
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