A decades-old cosmic theory has just received a dramatic proof-of-concept, right here on Earth. In a groundbreaking experiment, physicists at the University of Southampton have recreated a “black hole bomb” in a laboratory, mimicking one of the most mind-bending concepts in astrophysics: extracting energy from a spinning black hole.
The lab model, built by physicist Dr. Hendrik Ulbricht and his team, involves a rotating aluminum cylinder encircled by magnetic coils. Though it doesn’t involve an actual black hole, the setup simulates a concept called superradiance, where a rotating object can amplify surrounding energy—just like a black hole spinning in space.
This experimental validation draws directly from theories proposed over 50 years ago by Roger Penrose and later expanded by Yakov Zeldovich. Penrose first introduced the idea of extracting energy from a black hole via frame dragging, where the black hole’s rotation distorts spacetime around it. Zeldovich went further, predicting that if waves—like light or magnetic fields—interacted with a spinning cylinder and were reflected back, they could amplify in a runaway loop, forming a so-called “black hole bomb.”
Ironically, it took a global pandemic to ignite this cosmic discovery. “I was so super excited that, actually, you could say it rescued me during Covid,” said Ulbricht, recalling how his desire for a meaningful project during the 2020 lockdown led to the experiment’s first breakthrough.
By refining his early prototype, the team built a more complex system: a rotating cylinder surrounded by three layers of magnetic coils. The coils created a magnetic field analogous to light waves, while also acting as mirrors to trap and amplify energy. As predicted by Zeldovich, the setup triggered a boosted magnetic signal, confirming the feedback loop and bringing the black hole bomb concept into tangible form.
One of the most striking results? The system didn’t need an external energy source. The team found it could spontaneously amplify fluctuationsessentially generating energy from background magnetic noise, much like a real black hole bomb would harness quantum fluctuations in the vacuum of space.
Dr. Vitor Cardoso, a theoretical physicist at the University of Lisbon, noted that these lab results provide strong empirical support for superradiance in astrophysical black holes: “If new fields exist, we should be seeing, for instance, gravitational waves being emitted from this cloud around black holes, or we should see black holes spinning down because they’re giving their energy away to these new particles.”
The lab model may be small and harmless, but its implications are vast. By simulating superradiance, physicists can now test speculative ideas about dark matter, exotic particles, and even detect signs of gravitational waves caused by energy-leaking black holes.
