Lab-based vortex promises new insights into the nature of space-time and gravity
ASTROPHYSICS
If you think normal tornadoes are scary, buckle up: scientists have created one so strong that it resembles a black hole. In fact, the lab-based vortex mimics black holes so well, that it holds huge possibilities for black hole research.
An artificial vortex this powerful is something that’s never been seen before and has been described as a ‘quantum tornado’. While a regular tornado rips up trees and houses and reels them around, a quantum tornado reels atoms and particles around.
The team behind the vortex, led by scientists from the University of Nottingham working in collaboration with colleagues from King’s College London and Newcastle University, published a report on their work in the journal Nature.
To get the vortex to mimic a black hole, the scientists had to use helium in its ‘superfluid’ state, where it has low viscosity and can flow without any resistance. These properties allow the scientists to closely observe how the helium interacts with its surroundings, as the helium reveals the smallest movements in detail. This quality enabled them to discover that the tiny waves on the liquid’s surface, simulate the gravitational conditions around rotating black holes.
But superfluid helium doesn’t do this automatically. It must first be chilled to the lowest possible temperatures, lower than –271°C (close to absolute zero –273°C/–459°F), because, usually, tiny objects inside liquid helium called ‘quantum vortices’ spread apart. But,
