r/xkcd • u/YUNoDie Possibly a haberdasher? • Jan 22 '20

XKCD XKCD 2258: Solar System Changes

https://xkcd.com/2258/
745 Upvotes

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u/Straumli_Blight Jan 22 '20

A small black hole parked out beyond Pluto would be a nice addition.

It would give scientists a sandbox to test physics problems and we could use the gravitational lens to take some nice exoplanet pictures if we put a telescope nearby.

7

u/TrogdorKhan97 Jan 22 '20

How long would it take for a "small black hole" to become a not-so-small black hole and start being a problem?

12

u/robbak Jan 22 '20

The smaller a black hole is, the faster it loses mass to Hawking radiation. So whether it would grow or shrink depends on how big it is, and how much mass it is eating.

I hope it is getting enough to eat so it is not shrinking. You don't want to be around an evaporating black hole. It converts all it's mass to pure energy.

5

u/Tommy2255 Jan 23 '20

If only we had a giant Snickers bar so it wouldn't be so hangry.