What Would Happen if a 1 mm Black Hole Appeared on Earth?

Have you ever wondered what would happen if a black hole appeared right here on Earth? It may sound like a science fiction scenario, but it’s a legitimate question that physicists have asked themselves. In fact, the question became especially relevant when the Large Hadron Collider was launched in 2008. At the time, many scientists, including the famous Stephen Hawking, were worried that the collider could create microscopic black holes that would swallow everything around them and spell the end of humanity.

But before you start packing your bags for Mars, let me ease your fears. The truth is, the likelihood of a black hole appearing on Earth is extremely low, and if it were to happen, we would have some time before the apocalypse occurred. For starters, creating a mini black hole would require an enormous amount of energy – 1015 times more than the Large Hadron Collider can withstand. Plus, scientists would need to work with the fourth dimension in space, which is not yet well understood.

Even if we managed to create a microscopic black hole, it would most likely evaporate instantly thanks to something called Hawking radiation. This phenomenon, discovered by Stephen Hawking himself, states that black holes not only absorb energy, but also emit it. So, not only would the Large Hadron Collider not threaten us, but billions of black holes already exist on our planet. Don’t panic, though – these black holes are microscopic in size and pose no threat to us.

In fact, these tiny black holes have been attacking Earth for billions of years. Some of them have a mass of up to 100 tons but a size no larger than an atom. While this may sound alarming, their small size means they have a small “event horizon,” which is a hypothetical line beyond which space and time are bent.

Of course, we still have a lot to learn about black holes and the fourth dimension in space, so it’s always possible that our understanding of these phenomena could change in the future. But for now, we can rest easy knowing that the chances of a black hole appearing on Earth and causing our imminent destruction are very, very slim.