Researchers at Imperial College London have been able to simulate the accretion disk of a black hole in the lab. It is assumed that their scientific work will help to study how these mysterious objects of our Universe eat.
What is known
The black star accretion disk allows scientists to detect these objects with existing tools. This is how the first-ever image of a supermassive black hole, which is located in the Messier 87 galaxy, was obtained in 2017. The image was published two years later. You can see it below.
As matter falls into the black hole, it evaporates and turns into plasma. The disk of plasma around a supermassive black hole is depicted in the photo as a ring. It was computer colored orange.
The centrifugal force pushes particles out and prevents matter from falling into the black hole all at once. Electrons and ions circle around the black hole at tremendous speeds. The new scientific work of scientists from Lond will allow us to learn more about this process.
An instrument called the Mega Ampere Generator for Plasma Implosion Experiments (MAGPIE) was used for the study. The device generates pulses with a current of 1.8 million amperes to turn matter into plasma.
The scientists found out that their model worked. Unfortunately, the pulses are very short, which does not allow long-term observation. According to experts, the model demonstrates the physics of the processes that occur in the accretion disk of a real supermassive black hole.
As part of previous observations of these mysterious objects, astronomers have found that the speed of rotation of the plasma in the disk increases as it approaches the center. The new study matches the observations. Going forward, the researchers want to increase the pulse duration to extend the run time of the model.
Source: space
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