Black Hole Bomb Realized: Physicists Build First-Ever Lab Model of a 50-Year-Old Cosmic Theory

In a landmark experiment that bridges theoretical astrophysics and hands-on physics, scientists have created the world’s first laboratory model of a “black hole bomb”—a concept first proposed over 50 years ago. By constructing a system that mimics the rotational energy dynamics of black holes, researchers have brought to life one of the most intriguing predictions in gravitational physics.

Originally theorized in 1972 by physicists William Press and Saul Teukolsky, the black hole bomb describes a mechanism in which waves—such as light or magnetic fields—are trapped around a rotating black hole by surrounding mirrors. These waves are repeatedly reflected and exponentially amplified, drawing energy from the black hole’s spin in a runaway cascade of radiation.

Now, for the first time, that theoretical idea has been successfully demonstrated in the laboratory by a collaboration of physicists from the University of Southampton, the University of Glasgow, and the Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies at Italy’s National Research Council. Their study, published on March 31 on the preprint server arXiv, offers a bold step forward in experimentally testing the physics of extreme cosmic objects.

“This experiment is not just about black holes. It’s about uncovering universal principles that govern how energy and waves behave in rotating systems,” says Dr. Maria Chiara Braidotti, co-author and research associate at the University of Glasgow.

A Half-Century of Theory Comes to Life

The foundation for the black hole bomb theory is built on ideas dating back to 1969, when British physicist and Nobel laureate Sir Roger Penrose proposed a method to extract energy from a rotating black hole—known today as black hole superradiance. A year later, Belarussian physicist Yakov Zel’dovich expanded on this with a prediction that any rotating body, under the right conditions, could amplify waves. This theoretical insight became known as the Zel’dovich effect, a key precursor to the black hole bomb concept.

The research team turned that abstract idea into an elegant analog system. Instead of a black hole, they used a spinning aluminum cylinder powered by an electric motor. Around the cylinder, they placed three concentric layers of metal coils, which served as electromagnetic mirrors, trapping and reflecting magnetic fields.

When a weak magnetic field was directed at the system, something extraordinary happened. The reflected signal grew stronger—direct evidence of superradiance. Then, after removing the initial magnetic input, the system continued generating waves on its own. The rotating cylinder amplified these self-generated waves, causing energy to build in the coils until, in some tests, it exceeded the system’s limits.

“We sometimes pushed the system so hard that circuit components exploded,” said Dr. Marion Cromb, a physicist at the University of Southampton and co-author of the study. “That was both thrilling and a real experimental challenge!”

A Model for the Cosmos—and Beyond

The results are more than an experimental triumph—they confirm that rotational superradiance is not exclusive to black holes. The phenomenon is, in fact, a universal feature of rotating systems that can be harnessed and studied in entirely new ways.

“Our work brings this prediction fully into the lab, demonstrating not only amplification but also the transition to instability and spontaneous wave generation,” Braidotti noted.

By capturing these effects in a controlled environment, physicists can now explore questions once reserved for distant galaxies: How do black holes lose energy? How does wave amplification influence their surroundings? And can these insights unlock new understandings in quantum theory, thermodynamics, or even future energy systems?

Although this experimental black hole bomb is only a model, its implications ripple through fundamental physics. From the nature of spacetime to the mechanics of radiation and spin, this lab-scale analog is giving scientists a new lens through which to study some of the universe’s most profound mysteries.

The team’s research is currently under peer review, but the early impact is already clear. For the first time, a theoretical cosmic engine imagined in the shadows of black holes has come roaring to life—on a lab bench here on Earth.

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Live Science - https://www.livescience.com/space/black-holes/physicists-create-black-hole-bomb-for-first-time-on-earth-validating-decades-old-theory