The Fate of a Particle That Becomes a Black Hole

What would happen if a particle were to become a black hole? Would it be ripped apart before it could reach the event horizon? Or would it evanescingly disappear just as quickly as it appears?

Such events involve complex phenomena that are currently beyond our understanding, particularly because we lack a complete theory of quantum gravity. The anecdotal theory suggests that an elementary particle, due to its fundamental nature, would evaporate through a process known as Hawking radiation.

Elementary Particles and Black Holes

The concept of elementary particles is undergoing a transformation in the physics community. In the past, the word 'fundamental' was used to describe particles like protons and electrons as indivisible. However, this term is no longer widely used, reflecting a more nuanced understanding of particle structure. A proton-mass black hole, with a Schwarzschild radius of 10^-20 Planck lengths, would be incredibly small, making its existence questionable but not impossible. However, its mean lifetime is estimated to be a vast number of Planck times, far shorter than anything we could observe or detect.

Hawking Radiation and Micro Black Holes

The process of Hawking radiation is one of the few theoretical predictions involving quantum mechanics and general relativity. For a black hole, the Hawking radiation intensity is inversely proportional to the size of the black hole. Therefore, a smaller black hole would emit more intense radiation. This is a stark difference from well-known elementary particles, which do not have this property of emitting radiation.

During discussions about the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), there were serious concerns that it might create mini black holes. These hypothetical particles were discussed in detail, but so far, no such black holes have been observed. If such particles did exist, our understanding of their behavior would be limited.

Observing the Outcome

What might happen if a particle becomes a black hole? If it were to collapse, it could be expected to emit Hawking radiation, potentially as plasma, X-rays, or even nothing at all. The reality is that the questions surrounding the formation and behavior of such micro black holes are largely theoretical, and actual observations are non-existent.

Some astrophysicists speculate that in the depths of a black hole, a particle would be stripped down to its most basic form, becoming a purely informational entity. However, this remains a hypothesis without empirical evidence.

While the question may seem academic, it highlights the ongoing challenges in unifying quantum mechanics and general relativity. The universe as we understand it is far from complete, and the pursuit of a theory of quantum gravity continues to be a critical objective in modern physics.