{"id":609205,"date":"2026-09-08T03:06:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T03:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/609205\/"},"modified":"2026-09-08T03:06:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T03:06:12","slug":"mystery-solved-after-50-years-why-multiple-black-holes-can-never-remain-in-perfect-b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/609205\/","title":{"rendered":"Mystery solved after 50 years: why multiple black holes can never remain in perfect b"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ever since Albert Einstein<\/a> formulated the theory of general relativity, black holes<\/a> have remained among the most fascinating, extreme and mysterious phenomena in the universe. Now, a major mathematical and physical breakthrough has finally settled one of the field\u2019s longest-running questions: Can several black holes exist together in a perfectly static equilibrium \u2014 fixed relative to one another, without moving closer, merging or changing their motion? The answer, now conclusively proven, is no.<\/p>\n

To understand the significance of the discovery, it is necessary to go back to the 1970s. Leading physicists, including Stephen Hawking and David Robinson, established what are known as the \u201cno-hair theorems,\u201d a set of results in general relativity showing that a stable black hole can be described by a very small number of physical properties, chiefly its mass and angular momentum and, in more general cases, its electric charge.<\/p>\n

\"\u05de\u05e1\u05e4\u05e8<\/a>\"\u05de\u05e1\u05e4\u05e8<\/p>\n

Several black holes rotating along a common axis <\/p>\n

(Illustration: Generated using artificial intelligence)<\/p>\n

These theorems established that an isolated, stable black hole is a relatively \u201csimple\u201d object, characterized essentially by its mass and rate of rotation, or angular momentum.<\/p>\n

Such a black hole can be imagined as a perfect cosmic spinning top rotating undisturbed around its axis in a state of eternal equilibrium \u2014 what is known in physics as the Kerr solution, the mathematical solution to Einstein\u2019s equations describing a rotating, electrically neutral black hole. It is one of the central solutions in general relativity.<\/p>\n

That understanding worked well for a single black hole but gave rise to a question that occupied the scientific community for half a century: What happens when several black holes are placed one above another along the same axis of rotation?<\/p>\n

Could two or more black holes rotate around exactly the same axis while maintaining a fixed distance from one another forever in a constant state of equilibrium, without being drawn together and colliding? For decades, scientists had no definitive mathematical proof answering that question.<\/p>\n

\"\u05d4\u05d3\u05de\u05d9\u05d9\u05ea<\/a>\"\u05d4\u05d3\u05de\u05d9\u05d9\u05ea<\/p>\n

Simulation of a black hole merger <\/p>\n

(Illustration: LIGO Laboratory\/Reuters)<\/p>\n

\"\u05d0\u05dc\u05d1\u05e8\u05d8<\/a>\"\u05d0\u05dc\u05d1\u05e8\u05d8<\/p>\n

Albert Einstein, father of the theory of general relativity <\/p>\n

(Photo: AP)<\/p>\n

Now, an international team of researchers, including Prof. Gilbert Weinstein of the Department of Mathematics at Ariel University, has achieved a major breakthrough and solved the mystery.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough an in-depth mathematical analysis of Einstein\u2019s vacuum equations \u2014 equations that describe the geometry of spacetime in regions where no matter is present \u2014 we proved the uniqueness conjecture: There is no stable, time-independent configuration of multiple black holes aligned along the same axis of rotation,\u201d Weinstein said.<\/p>\n

The researchers showed that once more than one black hole is present in such a system, the forces between them cannot cancel each other out.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlong the common axis of rotation connecting them, there is always a net attractive force,\u201d Weinstein said. \u201cThis means they cannot remain \u2018suspended\u2019 one above the other in a static state of equilibrium. The unbalanced gravitational force between them will inevitably cause the system to change and evolve dynamically, such as through mutual collapse and merger.\u201d<\/p>\n

The discovery is not merely the solution to a complex mathematical problem but a milestone in understanding the fundamental laws of the universe.<\/p>\n

It provides definitive proof that such equilibrium states cannot exist in systems containing multiple black holes, closes a significant gap in the study of general relativity and deepens scientific understanding of the dynamics between some of the most powerful objects in space.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mystery was first presented to me by my doctoral adviser, Prof. Demetrios Christodoulou, about 40 years ago,\u201d Weinstein said. \u201cNow that it has been solved, it represents a meaningful closing of the circle for me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ever since Albert Einstein formulated the theory of general relativity, black holes have remained among the most fascinating,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":609206,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[85,46,141],"class_list":["post-609205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=609205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/609206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=609205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=609205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=609205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}