Produced by: Manoj Kumar
Primordial black holes (PBHs) could be tunneling through planets and even human bodies, according to a study in Physics of the Dark Universe. These tiny entities may leave microscopic traces of their passage behind.
PBHs are thought to have formed moments after the Big Bang from dense pockets of matter. Unlike star-born black holes, these miniatures are as heavy as mountains but as small as hydrogen atoms.
The study suggests PBHs could hollow out planets by absorbing their dense cores. This phenomenon may leave detectable, hollowed-out planetary shells for astronomers to find.
Physicists propose that PBHs may have passed through Earth, leaving minuscule tunnels smaller than human hair. While harmless to us, these pathways may hold clues about their existence.
The chance of a PBH passing through a billion-year-old boulder is 0.0001%, according to calculations. Despite these odds, old materials may be the key to detecting these elusive objects.
PBHs are potential candidates for dark matter, which makes up 85% of the universe’s matter. Discovering them could help solve one of physics’ biggest mysteries.
Astronomers are advised to look for asteroids or small planets that may have captured PBHs. These hollow objects could survive as space anomalies, providing observable evidence.
The study likens PBHs to bullets: moving too fast for material to shatter, they leave clean tunnels in their wake. This unconventional approach may lead to breakthroughs in black hole detection.
No direct evidence of PBHs exists yet. Researchers argue that solving decades-old mysteries like dark matter may require thinking beyond conventional physics models.
Physicist Dejan Stojkovic emphasizes, “What has been done before hasn’t worked. We need new frameworks to uncover these hidden forces of the universe.”