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Will Dark Energy Tear Apart Black Holes?

-- | January 19, 2014

Question: Will dark energy eventually tear apart black holes, especially supermassive black holes? — Reinaldo

Answer: Let’s start with a basic understanding what what Dark Energy is thought to be. It is a hypothetical form of energy which is thought to pervade the universe. It has been proposed as the source of the measured acceleration of the expansion of our universe. As a physical entity it is really quite “thin”, having a density of about 10^(-29) grams per cubic centimeter, so its affect of things like planets, stars, humans, and black holes is exceedingly small. But, because it is thought to fill the universe its affect on the expansion of the universe is very important. So, to answer your question, Dark Energy does not affect the properties of black holes, so in fact cannot disrupt them in any way.

Jeff Mangum

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