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LIGO detects most massive black hole merger to date

(www.caltech.edu)
360 points Eduard | 2 comments | 14 Jul 25 20:06 UTC | HN request time: 0.45s | source
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WrongOnInternet ◴[14 Jul 25 21:27 UTC] No.44565549[source]▶
> the 225-solar-mass black hole was created by the coalescence of black holes each approximately 100 and 140 times the mass of the Sun.

Does this mean that 15 solar masses were converted into energy? Because that's a LOT of energy.

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1. hansulu ◴[15 Jul 25 01:18 UTC] No.44566963[source]▶
I was disappointed to learn that it would require billions of solar masses of energy from a black hole merger to be able to ride the gravitational wave starting at a distance of a few Schwarzschild radii. It seems like riding a plasma jet might be better.

(Just planning my next trip.)

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2. pixl97 ◴[15 Jul 25 02:30 UTC] No.44567316[source]▶
Much better off just chucking 90% of your mass into the blackhole to get a hella kick.