Physicists make record-breaking 'quantum vortex' to study the mysteries of black holes
By Ben Turner published 10 hours ago
Physicists created a 'quantum vortex,' which flows with 500 times less viscosity than water and could be used to study the space-time warping caused by black holes.
An artist's illustration of a whirlpool. (Image credit: Saibarakova Ilona via Shutterstock)
Scientists have created a giant quantum tornado inside a helium superfluid, and they want to use it to probe the enigmatic nature of black holes.
The whirlpool — made from liquid helium cooled to near absolute zero — moves without friction, making it mimic the way rotating black holes warp the space-time that surrounds them.
By studying the vortex, physicists could glean important insight into the behavior of the cosmic monsters. The researchers published their findings March 20 in the journal Nature.
"Using superfluid helium has allowed us to study tiny surface waves in greater detail and accuracy than with our previous experiments in water," lead author Patrik Svancara, a physicist at the University of Nottingham in the U.K., said in a statement. "As the viscosity of superfluid helium is extremely small, we were able to meticulously investigate their interaction with the superfluid tornado and compare the findings with our own theoretical projections."
The workings of black holes remain a persistent mystery for physicists. The known laws of physics break in the presence of these extreme objects' infinite gravitational pulls. For those looking to combine Einstein's theory of general relativity with quantum mechanics, this means black holes' warping of space-time offers an alluring pull.
More:
https://www.livescience.com/physics-mathematics/quantum-physics/physicists-make-record-breaking-quantum-vortex-to-study-the-mysteries-of-black-holes
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and 
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