Black hole BREAKTHROUGH: How spacetime can be used 'to INVISIBLY navigate the galaxy'

A black hole is a region of spacetime exhibiting such strong gravitational effects that nothing – not even light – can escape. Currently, NASA already navigates the solar system by using gravity wells as slingshots to send their spacecrafts to their destinations faster. However, an astronomer from Columbia University has a new theory about how an alien civilisation may be invisibly navigating our galaxy.

In a paper published in the journal arXiv on March 11, David Kipping proposed his new theory. 

He claimed an interstellar spacecraft could fire a laser at the gravity mirror of a fast-moving black hole in a binary system. 

He argues that, when the energised photon from the laser is whipped back around, it could re-absorb them and convert extra energy into momentum.

His paper reads: “Gravitational slingshots around a neutron star in a compact binary have been proposed as a means of accelerating large masses to potentially relativistic speeds.

“It is proposed that such a slingshot can be performed remotely using a beam of light which follows a boomerang null geodesic.

“Using a moving black hole as a gravitational mirror, kinetic energy from the black hole is transferred to the beam of light as a blueshift and, upon return, the recycled photons not only accelerate but also add energy to the spacecraft.”

This system, which Kipping termed the “halo drive,” has a big advantage over more traditional forms of space transport as it does not require a massive fuel source. 

Current proposals require more energy to accelerate the space shuttle to “relativistic” speeds than humanity has produced in its entire history.

With a halo drive, all that energy could theoretically be sapped from a black hole, rather than have to be generated from a fuel source.

Mr Kipping went on to remark how an alien race may be secretly using this system right now to navigate the Milky Way.

He added: “A lot could exploit black holes as galactic waypoints but would be difficult to detect remotely, except for an elevated binary merger rate and excess binary eccentricity.”

However, the astronomer offered a stark warning to space agencies like NASA over trying to replicate the move.

He stated: “Such an idea is attractive since fuel is not expended for the acceleration, however it does entail a spacecraft diving into close proximity of the binary, which could be hazardous.”

source: express.co.uk