Can an Atom Become a Black Hole?

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SUMMARY

Atoms cannot become black holes simply by being shrunk; they would evaporate instantly upon reaching such a state. The discussion highlights that while theoretically, accelerating protons to Planck energy could create artificial black holes, current particle accelerators lack the necessary energy levels, being off by a factor of 1014. The implications of creating black holes, even if possible, are limited by our current technological capabilities and understanding of cosmic phenomena.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of black hole physics
  • Familiarity with particle physics and accelerators
  • Knowledge of Planck energy concepts
  • Basic grasp of quantum mechanics
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the properties of black holes and their formation
  • Study the capabilities and limitations of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)
  • Learn about Planck energy and its significance in particle physics
  • Explore the concept of Hawking radiation and black hole evaporation
USEFUL FOR

Physicists, astrophysicists, and students interested in black hole research and particle physics, as well as anyone curious about the fundamental limits of our understanding of the universe.

Blop
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If you shrunk an atom down to a certain point would it become a black hole like all matter in the universe can? How big would it be?
 
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Blop said:
If you shrunk an atom down to a certain point would it become a black hole like all matter in the universe can? How big would it be?
Even if you could, which I doubt, it would evaporate in the instant of its creation so measuring it would be a bit tough.
 
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Blop said:
If you shrunk an atom down to a certain point would it become a black hole like all matter in the universe can? How big would it be?
Just wondering... by what means do you plan on shrinking down an atom?
 
XZ923 said:
As with many other concepts, we humans don't have the knowledge to make any kind of impact on a cosmic scale.

Considering the mess we've made of things in our own back yard, this is probably a very good thing...
 
If we could accelerate protons to the Planck energy and collide them, we should be able to form artificial black holes (that evaporate quickly - but then we can study the decay products).
Unfortunately the energy we can reach in current accelerators is a factor 100000000000000 (1014) too low.
 

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