Black holes in fiction
Encyclopedia
The study of black hole
s, bodies so massive that even light cannot escape, goes back to the late 18th century, though the term 'black hole
' was only coined in 1967. With the development of General Relativity
other properties related to the phenomenon came to be understood and these features of space have been included in many notable works of fiction.
describes a "bubble of darkness" in a tomb as being like "those lank black spots far out in the galaxy which some scientists have dreamed of are holes in the continuum itself, windows into the infinite outside our universe!"
Eleanor Cameron
's Juvenile SF novel Stowaway to the Mushroom Planet
(1956)
describes a group of meteors encountering, circling, and falling into a "hole in space"
in which time stops and from which nothing can return.
Roger Zelazny
's SF novel Creatures of Light and Darkness
(1969) contains the concept, something called Skagganauk Abyss where there is no space or time.
The Black Sun in Arthur C. Clarke
's The City and the Stars
(1956) is sometimes interpreted as a black hole. It is definitely made so in Gregory Benford
's Beyond the Fall of Night
(1990).
Black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
s, bodies so massive that even light cannot escape, goes back to the late 18th century, though the term 'black hole
Black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
' was only coined in 1967. With the development of General Relativity
General relativity
General relativity or the general theory of relativity is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1916. It is the current description of gravitation in modern physics...
other properties related to the phenomenon came to be understood and these features of space have been included in many notable works of fiction.
Early uses
In The Sea-Kings of Mars (Thrilling Wonder Stories, 1949; later published as The Sword of Rhiannon, 1950) Leigh BrackettLeigh Brackett
Leigh Douglass Brackett was an American author, particularly of science fiction. She was also a screenwriter, known for her work on famous films such as The Big Sleep , Rio Bravo , The Long Goodbye and The Empire Strikes Back .-Life:Leigh Brackett was born and grew up in Los Angeles, California...
describes a "bubble of darkness" in a tomb as being like "those lank black spots far out in the galaxy which some scientists have dreamed of are holes in the continuum itself, windows into the infinite outside our universe!"
Eleanor Cameron
Eleanor Cameron
Eleanor Frances Butler Cameron was a Canadian children's author. Her first book was The Unheard Music, published in 1950.-Life:...
's Juvenile SF novel Stowaway to the Mushroom Planet
Stowaway to the Mushroom Planet
Stowaway to the Mushroom Planet is the second in the series of Mushroom Planet books by Eleanor Cameron, and was published in 1956, two years after the original....
(1956)
describes a group of meteors encountering, circling, and falling into a "hole in space"
in which time stops and from which nothing can return.
Roger Zelazny
Roger Zelazny
Roger Joseph Zelazny was an American writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for his The Chronicles of Amber series...
's SF novel Creatures of Light and Darkness
Creatures of Light and Darkness
Creatures of Light and Darkness is a 1969 science fiction novel by Roger Zelazny. Long out of print, it was reissued in April 2010.-Plot introduction:...
(1969) contains the concept, something called Skagganauk Abyss where there is no space or time.
The Black Sun in Arthur C. Clarke
Arthur C. Clarke
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
's The City and the Stars
The City and the Stars
The City and the Stars is a science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke. It is a complete rewrite of his earlier novella, Against the Fall of Night.-Overview:...
(1956) is sometimes interpreted as a black hole. It is definitely made so in Gregory Benford
Gregory Benford
Gregory Benford is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine...
's Beyond the Fall of Night
Beyond the Fall of Night
Beyond the Fall of Night is a novel by Gregory Benford and Arthur C. Clarke. The first part of Beyond the Fall of Night is a reprint of Clarke’s famous Against the Fall of Night while the second half is a "sequel" by Gregory Benford which takes place many years later...
(1990).
Popularisation
As a growing number of scientists began to believe black holes were real, and as they began to appear in works of popular science, they also became frequent elements in science fiction stories:- Larry NivenLarry NivenLaurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
wrote several short stories based on mini-black holesMicro black holeMicro black holes are tiny black holes, also called quantum mechanical black holes or mini black holes, for which quantum mechanical effects play an important role....
, including The Hole ManThe Hole Man"The Hole Man" is a short story by American writer Larry Niven. It won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1975.In this story, a team of explorers and scientists on Mars encounter an alien base, in which there is a still-functional communication device. One scientist believes that at the center...
(1974) and The Borderland of Sol in Tales of Known Space (1975). - Frederik PohlFrederik PohlFrederik George Pohl, Jr. is an American science fiction writer, editor and fan, with a career spanning over seventy years — from his first published work, "Elegy to a Dead Planet: Luna" , to his most recent novel, All the Lives He Led .He won the National Book Award in 1980 for his novel Jem...
's HeecheeHeecheeThe Heechee are a fictional alien race from the science fiction works of Frederik Pohl. The Heechee are portrayed as an exceedingly advanced star-travelling race that explored Earth's solar system millennia ago and then disappeared without a trace before humankind began space exploration.The...
series includes black holes of several sorts. This starts with GatewayGateway (novel)Gateway is a 1977 science fiction novel by American writer Frederik Pohl. Gateway won the 1978 Hugo Award for Best Novel, the 1978 Locus Award for Best Novel, the 1977 Nebula Award for Best Novel, and the 1978 John W. Campbell Award. It is the opening novel in the Heechee saga...
(1976). - Stephen BaxterStephen BaxterStephen Baxter is a prolific British hard science fiction author. He has degrees in mathematics and engineering.- Writing style :...
's 2004 novel Exultant features a war between humans and aliens based around a supermassive black holeSupermassive black holeA supermassive black hole is the largest type of black hole in a galaxy, in the order of hundreds of thousands to billions of solar masses. Most, and possibly all galaxies, including the Milky Way, are believed to contain supermassive black holes at their centers.Supermassive black holes have...
at the core of our galaxy.
Films
- The Black HoleThe Black HoleThe Black Hole is a 1979 American science fiction film directed by Gary Nelson for Walt Disney Productions. The film stars Maximilian Schell, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Anthony Perkins, and Ernest Borgnine, while the voices of the main robot characters are provided by Roddy...
(1979), a major science fiction film featuring a derelict ship at the edge of a black hole. - Star Trek: The Motion PictureStar Trek: The Motion PictureStar Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first film based on the Star Trek television series. The film is set in the twenty-third century, when a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'Ger approaches the Earth,...
(1979), it is stated that Voyager 6 disappeared into "what they used to call a black hole". - The Black Hole (2006), a science fiction film unrelated to the 1979 film.
- Event Horizon (film)Event Horizon (film)Event Horizon is a 1997 science fantasy horror film. The screenplay was written by Philip Eisner and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. The film stars Laurence Fishburne and Sam Neill...
(1997), a spaceship is created to travel faster than light by a machine that creates an artificial black hole to travel to Alpha CentauriAlpha CentauriAlpha Centauri is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Centaurus...
. The ship actually passes into an unknown dimension. - Treasure PlanetTreasure PlanetTreasure Planet is a 2002 animated science fiction film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, and released by Walt Disney Pictures on November 27, 2002...
(2002), in Disney's animated sci-fi version of Treasure IslandTreasure IslandTreasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of "pirates and buried gold". First published as a book on May 23, 1883, it was originally serialized in the children's magazine Young Folks between 1881–82 under the title Treasure Island; or, the...
, the RLS LegacyRobert Louis StevensonRobert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
encounters a black hole, where a ruthless crew member named Scroop (Michael WincottMichael WincottMichael Anthony Claudio Wincott is a Canadian actor.Wincott was born in Toronto, Ontario and is renown for playing villainous roles-Filmography:*Title Shot - Robber*Wild Horse Hank - Charlie Connors...
) cuts the lifeline of the overboard First Mate, Mr. Arrow (Roscoe Lee BrowneRoscoe Lee BrowneRoscoe Lee Browne was an American actor and director, known for his rich voice and dignified bearing.-Biography:Browne was the fourth son of a Baptist minister, Sylvanus S. Browne, and his wife Lovie...
), who is then pulled to his death in the black hole. - Wristcutters: A Love StoryWristcutters: A Love StoryWristcutters: A Love Story is a 2006 comedy-fantasy-romance film written and directed by Goran Dukić, starring Patrick Fugit, Shea Whigham, and Shannyn Sossamon. It is set in a strange afterlife way-station that has been reserved for people who have committed suicide.It is based on Etgar Keret's...
(2006), a fantasy romantic comedy which features a black hole under a car's front passenger seat where things dropped into it vanish, and who the lead character escapes the afterlife from. - Space Battleship Yamato: Resurrection (2009), A wandering cascade black hole is on a trajectory toward Earth. While escorting evacuation ships to a far away solar system, the Yamato and her crew have to find a way to stop it before Earth is destroyed.
- Star Trek (film) (2009), "red matter" is used by SpockSpockSpock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in the original Star Trek series, Spock also appears in the animated Star Trek series, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, seven of the Star Trek feature films, and numerous Star Trek...
to create an artificial black hole to absorb a supernovaSupernovaA supernova is a stellar explosion that is more energetic than a nova. It is pronounced with the plural supernovae or supernovas. Supernovae are extremely luminous and cause a burst of radiation that often briefly outshines an entire galaxy, before fading from view over several weeks or months...
, and later by Nero to destroy Vulcan. Traversing through the black hole created caused the characters to travel through time and ultimately change the past. - Maximum ShameMaximum ShameMaximum Shame is a feature-length dystopian movie, written and directed by Carlos Atanes and released in 2010.-Plot:The end of the world is imminent. A man goes into a parallel dimension, a limbo between reality and fantasy where the normal rules of time and space have ceased to apply. His wife...
(2010), a black hole is coming to swallow Earth and a couple escapes into a parallel universeParallel universe (fiction)A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
.
Television and video games
- In the television sci-fi adventure series AndromedaAndromeda (TV series)Andromeda is a Canadian-American science fiction television series, based on unused material by the late Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, developed by Robert Hewitt Wolfe, and produced by Roddenberry's widow, Majel Barrett Roddenberry. It starred Kevin Sorbo as High Guard Captain Dylan Hunt...
(2000), a black hole slows time for the hero, allowing him to survive into a new era. - Several adventures in the British television series Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
feature black holes or situations relating to them, notably "The Impossible PlanetThe Impossible Planet"The Impossible Planet" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is the first part of a two-part story, followed by "The Satan Pit". The TARDIS lands in a base on a planet orbiting a black hole, an allegedly impossible situation that stumps even the Doctor...
", "The Satan PitThe Satan Pit"The Satan Pit" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is the second part of a two-part story, following "The Impossible Planet". With the TARDIS seemingly lost, Rose and the remaining humans are trapped on the base with the possessed Ood, while the planet...
", "The Horns of NimonThe Horns of Nimon-Outside references:The plot of this serial incorporates aspects of the story of Theseus and the Minotaur - a fact the Doctor comments on at the end of the last episode...
", "The Three Doctors" and "The Deadly AssassinThe Deadly AssassinThe Deadly Assassin is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 30 October to 20 November 1976...
". - In the Blake's 7Blake's 7Blake's 7 is a British science fiction television series produced by the BBC for its BBC1 channel. The series was created by Terry Nation, a prolific television writer and creator of the Daleks for the television series Doctor Who. Four series of Blake's 7 were produced and broadcast between 1978...
story "Breakdown" the LiberatorLiberator (Blake's 7)The spaceship Liberator is a fictional starship featured in the first three seasons of the BBC television series Blake's 7.-Background:...
travels through a black hole. - In the Stargate SG-1Stargate SG-1Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...
episode A Matter of Time, a wormhole is opened to a planet near the event horizon of a black hole. Black holes play a major role in Stargate SG-1, and appear in many episodes. - In the Battlestar GalacticaBattlestar GalacticaBattlestar Galactica is an American science fiction franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica TV series in 1978, and was followed by a brief sequel TV series in 1980, a line of book adaptations, original novels, comic books, a board game, and video games...
episode "Daybreak Part 2Daybreak (Battlestar Galactica)"Daybreak" is the two-part series finale of the reimagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica, and are the 74th and 75th episodes overall. The episodes aired on the U.S. Sci Fi Channel and SPACE in Canada respectively on March 13 and March 20, 2009. The second part is...
", the Cylon ColonyCylon (reimagining)Cylons are a race which appear in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica television series and its prequel Caprica. They have several forms, some of which resemble and even mimic the behavior of humans, while others are mechanical in appearance and function.In the first DVD, one of the show's creators...
lies in an orbit around a black hole. - In the Superman: The Animated SeriesSuperman: The Animated SeriesSuperman: The Animated Series is an American animated television series starring DC Comics' flagship character, Superman. The series was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on The WB from September 6, 1996 to February 12, 2000. Warner Bros...
episode Absolute Power, a black hole acts as a major plot device. - In the video games Super Mario GalaxySuper Mario Galaxyis a 3D platform game developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It was released in most regions in November 2007, and is the third 3D original platformer in the Mario series, after Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. The game follows the protagonist, Mario, on a...
and Super Mario Galaxy 2Super Mario Galaxy 2is a platforming video game developed by Nintendo EAD and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It was first announced at E3 2009 and is the sequel to Super Mario Galaxy. It was released in North America on May 23, 2010, in Japan on May 27, 2010, in Europe on June 11, 2010, and in Australia on July 1,...
, black holes are the equivalent of bottomless pits in which if Mario (or Luigi) falls or slips off an edge with a black hole under the level, he will be sent spiraling into it, losing a life. In the end of the game, when Mario defeats Bowser, his galaxy collapses into a supermassive black holeSupermassive black holeA supermassive black hole is the largest type of black hole in a galaxy, in the order of hundreds of thousands to billions of solar masses. Most, and possibly all galaxies, including the Milky Way, are believed to contain supermassive black holes at their centers.Supermassive black holes have...
and starts consuming the universe. Only the Lumas were able to neutralize the black hole. - In the video game Mega Man 9Mega Man 9Mega Man 9, known in Japan as , is a video game developed by Capcom and Inti Creates. It is the ninth numbered game in the original Mega Man series. Mega Man 9 is the first, new home console game in the original Mega Man series since Mega Man 8 and Mega Man & Bass, which were released at least one...
, there is a weapon called the Black Hole Bomb. When Galaxy Man uses it, it pulls Mega Man toward its horizontal position while Galaxy Man stands under it to cause damage. Mega Man can use the weapon after defeating Galaxy Man to suck enemies and bullets into a black hole, and it is effective against Jewel Man in the same game. - In the TransformersTransformersA transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another by magnetic coupling.Transformer may also refer to:* ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, an Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet computer manufacturer by Asus...
episode called "the Killing Jar", Ultra Magnus, Cyclonus, Wreck-Gar and several other characters are transported through a black hole, only to find themselves trapped in a universe composed entirely of anti-matter. - In StarCraft II, a Protoss unit, called The Mothership, can summon a black hole, which sucks up all nearby units and disables them for a short time.
- In Star Ocean: The Last HopeStar Ocean: The Last Hopeis an action role-playing video game developed by tri-Ace and Square Enix who also published the game, initially only for the Xbox 360, and the fourth installment in the Star Ocean series. Famitsu revealed that the battle system featured four party members, and was more team-oriented...
, the SPSS-6002B-003 Calnus travels through a black hole which somehow leads to a parallel universeParallel universe (fiction)A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
. - In a videogame called The DarknessThe Darkness (video game)The Darkness is a first-person shooter video game, developed by Starbreeze Studios and published by 2K Games for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. It was released on June 25, 2007 in North America and on June 20, 2007 in Europe. The video game is based on the comic book of the same title...
, you end up going to a turkish bath and eventually kill a crazy man, for which in return, you gain the ability to summon a mini black hole and to collapse it at will. - In the fourth installment of Destroy All Humans! Path of the FuronDestroy All Humans! Path of the FuronDestroy All Humans! Path of the Furon is a third-person shooter video game published by THQ. The game is set in 1979 and is the fourth Destroy All Humans! game to be released, and is the third game in the Destroy All Humans! trilogy, released December 1, 2008 in North America for the Xbox 360...
, you acquire a new upgrade for Crypto's gun later in the game called the Black Hole Gun, in which it creates one after charging the weapon and firing. - In Mass Effect 2Mass Effect 2Mass Effect 2 is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 on January 26, 2010 and for PlayStation 3 on January 18, 2011...
the main base of the Collectors exists on the border of the event horizon of the supermassive black holeSupermassive black holeA supermassive black hole is the largest type of black hole in a galaxy, in the order of hundreds of thousands to billions of solar masses. Most, and possibly all galaxies, including the Milky Way, are believed to contain supermassive black holes at their centers.Supermassive black holes have...
at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. The biotic ability Singularity used in the game also creates a miniature black hole which pulls enemies of their feet and deals damage to them - In the anime/manga series InuyashaInuYasha, also known as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It premiered in Weekly Shōnen Sunday on November 13, 1996 and concluded on June 18, 2008...
, the monk Miroku is cursed with a black hole in his right hand that is capable of drawing anything into the void, dubbed the Wind Tunnel. The hereditary curse was placed on his grandfather by the demon Naraku, and grows each year in size, threatening to draw Miroku himself into the hole when it reaches its limit, thus killing him. - In the action shooter/puzzle games Portal and Portal 2Portal 2Portal 2 is a first-person puzzle-platform video game developed and published by Valve Corporation. The sequel to the 2007 video game Portal, it was announced on March 5, 2010, following a week-long alternate reality game based on new patches to the original game...
, the portal gun's center is made up of a black hole in order to for it to create portals.
See also
- Black holes
- White holes in fiction
- Wormholes in fictionWormholes in fictionA wormhole is a postulated method, within the general theory of relativity, of moving from one point in space to another without crossing the space between. Wormholes are a popular feature of science fiction as they allow interstellar travel within human timescales...
- Neutron stars in fiction