Researchers have demonstrated a method to extract energy from synthetic rotation mimicking a spinning black hole using a stationary device. The experiment, conducted at the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center, brings long-standing theoretical ideas into practical use. It was detailed in a paper published in Nature in 2026.
More than 50 years after Sir Roger Penrose proposed extracting energy from a spinning black hole's ergosphere, scientists have replicated key aspects of the process in a laboratory setting. The team used a radio frequency device with properties adjusted rapidly across space and time to create the illusion of ultrafast rotation without any physical movement.
Principal investigator Andrea Alù described the approach as enabling new wave-matter interactions that produce broadband selective amplification. Lead author Hadiseh Nasari noted that the work transforms theoretical concepts into a versatile experimental platform for studying phenomena at the intersection of astrophysics, wave physics, and quantum science.
Co-lead author Hady Moussa highlighted how engineered metamaterials allow waves with specific rotational properties to extract energy and become amplified, reproducing the Penrose-Zel'dovich process. The research received support from the U.S. Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation, and the Simons Foundation.
Potential applications include advances in wireless communications, optics, photonics, and quantum technologies, though further development is required before practical devices emerge.