What would happen if two black holes collided?

In summary, when two super-massive black holes collide, the difference in their mass-energy is released, mostly as gravity waves. This is due to the conservation of surface area and the relationship between mass and area for black holes. The resulting radiation of energy would make being near the collision extremely dangerous.
  • #1
Sniperman724
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What would happen if two super-massive black holes collided with each other? I know it may be a very unlikely scenario.
I just started thinking about this for about a week and I wanted to see what anyone had to say about it.
Thanks!
 
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  • #2
The surface area of the holes is conserved. When they collide the difference in mass-energy implied by that is released, mostly as gravity waves.

To see why, consider two black-holes of mass 1, radius 1 and thus area 1. Total area is 2, but a black hole of mass 2 has an area of 4, because the radius scales linearly with the mass, but the area with the square of the radius. To get an area of two the radius is sqrt(2) and the proportion of mass radiated away as energy is (1-sqrt(2)/2) = 0.293. Being nearby the collision of two super-massive black-holes would be incredibly unhealthy...
 
  • #3
http://www.black-holes.org/explore2.html
 
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1. What is a black hole?

A black hole is a region in space with such strong gravitational pull that nothing, not even light, can escape from it. It is created when a massive star dies and collapses in on itself.

2. How do black holes collide?

Black holes can collide when two objects with strong gravitational pull, such as stars or other black holes, get close enough to each other. The force of gravity between them becomes so strong that they merge into one larger black hole.

3. What would happen if two black holes collided?

The collision of two black holes would release a tremendous amount of energy in the form of gravitational waves. These waves would cause ripples in the fabric of space-time and can be detected by specialized equipment on Earth. Eventually, the two black holes would merge into one larger black hole.

4. Could a black hole collision affect Earth?

No, a black hole collision would not directly affect Earth. Even if a black hole were to collide with our sun, the distance between them is so great that the effects would not reach us. However, the gravitational waves produced by the collision would still be detectable on Earth.

5. Can a black hole collision destroy the universe?

No, a black hole collision cannot destroy the universe. While it would release a massive amount of energy, it is still a localized event in space. The universe is much larger and would not be affected by the collision of two black holes. In fact, black hole collisions are a natural occurrence in the universe and have been happening for billions of years.

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