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Published online 1 February 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.549

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Astronomers look for exploding black holes

Extra dimensions in spacetime could trigger blast.

A group of radio astronomers has begun looking for signals from small, exploding black holes. The search is a long shot, but if it finds anything, it could be the best evidence yet for extra dimensions beyond the paltry four that we live in.

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  • I am puzzled by the idea of looking 300 light years away. From the context it appears that these primordial black holes were created at or soon after the big bang. Wouldn't they have all long since evaporated, and therefore could not be only 300 years ago in time?

    • 01 Feb, 2008
    • Posted by: Herbert Steinberg
  • With time large stars produce enough light to implode. The implosion creates black holes to consume matter until breaking point explode. One can only fill a plastic bag with so much stuff until the bottom drops out, right? If glass were in the bag the contents of the jar may mix with other things in the bag and create a hell of a time for who ever need clean it up. We need be more interested in replacing the idea of gravity with magnetism. It is time to Currie our temp problem of Climate Change before we move to close to the sun and get burned.

    • 02 Feb, 2008
    • Posted by: Scott Seramur
  • ...our problem is The Reality, which does not exist. Who can tell this is now and this is here. Man of to-day do not care about reality, look back and see future.

    • 02 Feb, 2008
    • Posted by: lukas strnad
  • Primordial black holes should be nearly uniformly spread throughout the universe and some would have enough mass to still be evaporating today.

    • 02 Feb, 2008
    • Posted by: R. Wendell
  • With time large stars produce enough light to implode?We need to be more interested in replacing the idea of gravity with magnetism? Our problem is the reality, which does not exsist?????????? On what grounds do you make such extraordinary claims, & where is the evidence supporting them?

    • 05 Feb, 2008
    • Posted by: Brandon Ore
  • If these primordial black holes are evenly distributed throughout the universe, what is their expected concentration? Shouldn't they be already detected (under assumption that they exist)?

    • 05 Feb, 2008
    • Posted by: Milan Bruncko
  • Primordial Black holes having existed, evaporating and potentially developing dimensions beyond the space time concept, as it is known. Hum...could it be an aspect of dark energy and dark matter, further allowing the expansion of the visible universe, thus overcoming the effect of gravity and a Big Crunch. Oh, Dali...time melting away becoming a new reality with organisms that are essentially tesscarates?

    • 05 Feb, 2008
    • Posted by: Jerry M. Weikle
  • What does tesscarates mean?

    • 05 Feb, 2008
    • Posted by: Brandon Ore
  • If a black hole is mass that attracts mass ad infinitum how can it 'evaporate'?

    • 06 Feb, 2008
    • Posted by: Duarte Soares