Kugelblitz (astrophysics)
In theoretical physics, a kugelblitz (German: "ball lightning", not to be confused with ball lightning) is a concentration of light so intense that it forms an event horizon and becomes self-trapped: according to general relativity, if enough radiation is aimed into a region, the concentration of energy can warp spacetime enough for the region to become a black hole (although this would be a black hole whose original mass-energy had been in the form of radiant energy rather than matter). In simpler terms, a kugelblitz is a black hole formed from energy as opposed to mass.
According to Einstein's general theory of relativity, once an event horizon has formed, the type of mass-energy that created it no longer matters.
The best-known reference to the kugelblitz idea in English is probably John Archibald Wheeler's 1955 paper "Geons",[1] which explored the idea of creating particles (or toy models of particles) from spacetime curvature. Wheeler's paper on geons also introduced the idea that lines of electric charge trapped in a wormhole throat might be used to model the properties of a charged particle-pair.
A kugelblitz is an important plot element in Frederik Pohl's novel Heechee Rendezvous.
References
- ^ J. A. Wheeler (1955). "Geons". Physical Review. 97: 511–536. Bibcode:1955PhRv...97..511W. doi:10.1103/PhysRev.97.511.