Is it possible that a big enough particle accelerator ,(the RHIC for example), could generate a black hole. If so - how?
Asked by: Tim Butler
Answer
I have just read the latest edition of New Scientist magazine which features a 4 page
article on the subject.According to the article, the smallest possible black hole is
about 10-35 meters across (Planck's Length). To create such an object by collision
would require energies of 1019 Giga-electronvolts - more than ten million billion
times the energies created by the RHIC. We would need a particle accelerator as big
as the galaxy to do it. Even then, this black hole would evaporate in about 10-42
seconds. So, basically, the answer is no.
Answered by: Tim Butler
'There is no inductive method which could lead to the fundamental concepts of physics. Failure to understand this fact constituted the basic philosophical error of so many investigators of the nineteenth century.'