Could a Black Hole Be Used as a Power Plant? We Asked An Expert—Here’s the Surprising Answer

Automatically curated summary from The Debrief.

Physicist Felipe Asenjo discussed research co-authored with Luca Comisso on extracting rotational energy from rotating black holes. Building on Roger Penrose’s 1969 theory, their study demonstrates that magnetic reconnection within a black hole's ergosphere can split plasma into two jets. One jet with negative energy falls past the event horizon, while the other escapes carrying stolen rotational energy, slowing the black hole down. Asenjo notes that while no fundamental scientific laws prevent an advanced civilization from harnessing these high-energy plasma flows, the practical technology required remains strictly theoretical.

Context and limitations

The energy extraction process is based on theoretical physics models and mathematical calculations; harnessing this phenomenon as a practical power source remains speculative and beyond current technological capabilities.