The simulated decay of a black hole not only results in the emission of radiation, but the decay of the central orbiting mass that keeps most objects stable. Black holes are not static objects, but rather change over time. (EU’S COMMUNICATE SCIENCE)

Ask Ethan: When Do Black Holes Become Unstable?

The densest objects in the Universe are also the most difficult to destroy. But eventually, destruction always prevails.

There are quite a few ways to make the black holes we know about in the Universe, from core-collapse supernovae to merging neutron stars to the direct collapse of tremendous amounts of matter. On the smallest end, we know of black holes that may be merely 2.5-to-3 times the mass of our Sun, while on the largest end, supermassive ones in excess of 10 billion solar masses reside at the centers of galaxies. But is that it? And how stable are black holes of different masses? That’s what Nyccolas Emanuel wants to know, as he asks:

Is there a critical size for black hole stability? [A] 10¹² kg [black hole] is already stable for a couple of billion years. However, a [black hole] in the range of 10⁵ kg, could explode in a second, thus, definitely not stable… I guess there is a critical mass for a [black hole] where the flow of gained matter will equal to the Hawking evaporation?

There’s a lot going on here, so let’s unpack it all.