Could rotating black holes be the wind turbines powering the distant future? We tested the physics

Theory concerns all rotating objects that can absorb matter or radiation.

If we sent objects or light towards a rotating black hole, we may be able to get energy back.

The idea dates back to 1971 and Yakov Zel’dovich predicted something very simple.

If you take a cylinder that absorbs energy from waves, and you spin it, then it should actually spend its own energy to amplify some waves (boosting their energy) This would apply to waves that possessed their own inherent rotation (known as angular momentum) in the same direction as the cylinder and had a low enough frequency with respect to the cylinder’s rotation rate.

In an experiment we found that the amplification of the field by.

Experiment shows the Zel'dovich effect is present in electromagnetism.

It also unlocks the potential to see the effect on a quantum level.

Quantum theory tells us empty space is not empty it has some fluctuations.

This would mean a rotating cylinder, even in the absence of all other forces, would gradually slow down.