Building Black Holes in a Lab

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Black holes are about the worst subjects for direct study in the universe. But at this stage, it’s all we can do to convince ourselves of their existence. Actually studying the physics of real black holes is much, much harder. I mean, we could try to make one - but that’s way beyond our current tech level, and also potentially humanity-destroying. Well it turns out we don’t need to make real black holes to at least get started with the lab work. We can instead study analog black holes - and by analog, I don’t mean old fashioned clockwork black holes - I mean analogies. Physical systems that aren’t black holes but that behave in similar ways - and may reveal the real behaviours of real black holes.

Matt Visser Paper

Hosted by Matt O'Dowd
Written by Daniel Garisto & Matt O'Dowd
Graphics by Leonardo Scholzer, Yago Ballarini, & Pedro Osinski
Directed by: Andrew Kornhaber
Camera Operator: Bahaar Gholipour
Executive Producers: Eric Brown & Andrew Kornhaber

#space #astrophysics #blackholes

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[iancd]

Fascinating stuff. A few years back, I followed a Cosmology class with a professor who made me fall in love with the subject ; one day there was an "open-lab" day at our university, and some friends and I went to his lab. There, he told us about his research, and started explaining acoustic black holes to us ! We were fascinated, as he told us about the bathtub experiments he worked on, and also how he'd met Unruh at a few conferences over the years.
He was a brilliant professor whose passion was palpable in every class he gave - I remember looking forward to it like no other for his dry wit and his ability to blow our minds week after week.
I learned that he passed away not long ago from a friend who is doing her PhD at the lab he worked in. I'd like to shout him out for all the students he inspired. Rest in peace Renaud Parentani

[laurachapple]

"The details are too dense for YouTube." Considering the stuff this channel considers sparse enough for YouTube, that sentence terrified me.

[vsuzroe]

Ah, so me playing with whirlpools in the bathtub as a kid was actually me conducting experiments on black holes

[ReptilianLepton]

"Old-fashioned clockwork black holes"

Always knew we couldn't trust those steampunk cosplayers.

[niklasschmidt]

*pulls plug of the water filled drain*
Me: "You know, I'm something of a black hole scientist myself"

[faris.Djunaidi]

Aaah, my favorite lullaby chanel. Good night folks, have a good sleep. See ya on the other side of space time.

[AdrianColley]

All this talk of bathtubs and breakthroughs, and not a single utterance of "Eureka!".

[alexanderheld]

Physicist mastered clickbaits ahead of anyone else

[caiheang]

How about building a lab in a black hole? Now that's the real challenge.

[technocore]

Most people who hear Unruh's thought experiment about fish/water and it's relation to Black Hole science think, "Wow, interesting thought experiment"
Here's to those people who hear Unruh's thought experiment and say, "Get me some tanks and water!"

[zodiacfml]

2:45 Finally, a good analogy! I've never seen this in a Youtube of video. I've thought of something similar to this theorizing on black holes from learning space time stuff on Youtube videos.
4:50 really crazy. I've also thought space time pretty much similar to fluids or movement of water.

[Kuichio]

I really enjoy watching PBS Space Time, as I get to feel exited about science and wonder about the possibilities dispite my dreary day to day where I feel like I miss my school days if only for the sake of learning. Especially in this time of quarantine, you folks are making people feel good about learning new things and diving into friendly scientific discussions. I am glad that everyone of you do what you do, and your impact cannot be ignored! Thank you everyone at PBS Digital Studios for making this quadrant of the galaxy the best one!! 😃👍

[ahmedmajed]

today:
Tomorrow: *Building Wormhole in Home*

[belmontxr]

Never been able to conceptualize how black holes trap even light, but the waterfall analogy did the trick. Thanks

[retrokjehret]

Can you do a video on our current scientific progress, like on everything that we have accomplished so far in creating things to explore space/ create certain space matter/environments.

[woawjack]

PBS Space Time be like:
2016: are black holes real? maybe
2020: black holes are definitely real
2024: why Tesla abandoned obselete black hole engines

[Ryukachoo]

Hoping for Isaac Arthur tier black hole engineering projects

Edit; well, I guess hydroelectric dams are black hole analogous megaprojects too

[rc]

Kudos to Matt O’Dowd for the careful inclusion of field terminology for those viewers who prefer that instead of “particle talk”. 👍

[burtosis]

So what I’m getting from analog black holes is with a real one, no one can see you scream.

[mfaizsyahmi]

[insert two handshaking body builder meme]
Left: Physicists
Right: Engineers
Handshake: Using hydraulic analogues