Scientists have been studying the most extreme collisions in the Universe. But New research has identified a new speed limit for two black holes smashing into each other. The maximum high-energy black hole collision is at 63 million mph (102 million km/h), according to this new study. This is about 1/10th the speed of light! Scientists believe that black holes are much more massive and destructive than how they originally thought.
The journal Physical Review Letters has recently published incredible findings. Let’s look a little more into the study findings.
“We are just scratching the surface of something that could be a more universal description,” a professor of mathematics and statistics at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in New York, Carlos Lousto says.
The maximum speed is at the peak of the collision. This is actually when the two separate black holes either merge or scatter apart when approaching each other. Previous research assumed that a collision could take place at a maximum of 5,000 km/sec. So, the newly identified speed limit exceeds what the scientists believed earlier.
The scientists observed the two black holes approaching each other from 1,300 different angles. They even studied direct collisions as well as close flybys to come up with a maximum speed limit. However, after much effort, the scientists were able to come up with the maximum recoil velocity.
The high-energy collision of black holes has given the maximum recoil velocity. A recoil velocity is basically a velocity attained in a backward direction. Imagine firing a bullet from the gun. The gun experiences a force in the backward direction. The gun gains a velocity in the opposite direction as a result of this force.
Researchers are also trying to reach a new horizon using Einstein’s equations for relativity. They are trying to mathematically prove that this velocity cannot be exceeded. Therefore, this could mean some new implications even for the fundamental laws of physics. The authors believe this new discovery of the speed limit can impact physical laws that affect everything!
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