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Scientists Discover Way to Send Information into Black Holes Without Using Energy

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Are Advanced Civilizations Using Black Holes to Contact Us?

Exploring the theory that gravitational waves may carry messages from intelligent life across the cosmos

For decades, scientists have searched the skies for signs of intelligent life. We’ve used massive radio telescopes to catch whispers of alien signals and scanned the universe in a thousand electromagnetic wavelengths. But what if intelligent civilizations aren’t using light or radio waves at all? What if they’re using something far more advanced—gravitational waves—and we’re just now getting smart enough to listen?

A recent theory by researchers A.A. Jackson and Gregory Benford offers a bold new idea. They suggest that alien civilizations much more advanced than ours might be using black holes—yes, those mysterious monsters of gravity—as tools to send signals through space.

Could we be standing at the edge of a cosmic conversation?

Let’s break down this idea and explore how a gravitational whisper might just be a greeting from the stars.

🧠 What Are Gravitational Waves, and Why Do They Matter?

To understand the theory, we must first understand what gravitational waves are.

Gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of space and time, predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity. They are created when massive objects, like black holes or neutron stars, move very fast or collide.

Until recently, these waves were almost impossible to detect. But in 2015, the LIGO detector in the United States recorded the first-ever gravitational wave, caused by the collision of two black holes. This discovery opened a whole new way of observing the universe—one that doesn’t rely on light.

But gravitational waves are incredibly subtle and difficult to detect. That’s why they’ve only recently become part of our scientific toolset.

Now imagine: What if other civilizations have been using gravitational waves for thousands or even millions of years—waiting for us to catch up?

🧪 The Groundbreaking Idea: Gravitational Wave Messaging with Black Holes

In their paper titled “A Gravitational Wave Transmitter” (published on ArXiv), Jackson and Benford proposed a fascinating possibility:

Advanced civilizations may build a machine—what they call a “radiator”—to produce and direct gravitational waves by manipulating tiny black holes.

This machine, they suggest, would be far beyond human technology. It would involve micro black holes—extremely small black holes (as tiny as a few centimeters), but with enormous mass, possibly as much as an asteroid or even a planet.

These civilizations could use powerful electromagnetic fields to move and control the black holes in precise ways. When they orbit each other or interact, they would generate gravitational waves at very high frequencies—possibly in the GHz (gigahertz) range.

These waves could then travel thousands of light-years across the galaxy and reach us.

💡 Why Gravitational Waves Instead of Radio Waves?

We’ve spent decades searching for alien radio signals—why would any intelligent species choose to send gravitational waves instead?

Here are a few possible reasons:

  1. Privacy and Security
    Gravitational waves are hard to detect and hard to trace. A civilization might use them to communicate securely across vast distances without revealing their location to hostile species.

  2. Reach and Precision
    Gravitational waves can pass through anything, even entire galaxies, without distortion. They can travel for billions of years without losing strength, unlike radio signals that weaken over time.

  3. Technological Challenge
    If a civilization can build a gravitational wave transmitter, they’ve clearly achieved incredible technological advancement. Maybe they only want to speak to others who have reached a similar level of development.

  4. Natural Medium
    Some environments, like the centers of galaxies or areas with high radiation, might make electromagnetic communication impossible. Gravitational waves would still pass through cleanly.

🕳️ The Role of Black Holes: Tiny but Mighty

Now let’s focus on the micro black holes in this theory.

These are tiny black holes, but still with huge mass and gravity. According to Jackson and Benford, these black holes could be used like parts in a machine. When controlled carefully, their movement can create gravitational waves with controlled patterns, just like how our antennas produce radio waves.

The imagined device would use a spinning Kerr black hole—a special type of rotating black hole—to extract energy through a process called superradiance.

Superradiance is a known theoretical process in which energy can be pulled from a rotating black hole. Think of it as a kind of cosmic engine—an energy battery bigger than anything humans can build.

This energy could then be used to power the gravitational wave machine, sending encoded messages across space.

🧰 The “Radiator” Machine: A Civilization-Level Device

Here’s how the full gravitational wave system might look:

  • A Kerr black hole at the center, providing massive amounts of energy.

  • Micro black holes, acting like “speakers” to generate gravitational waves.

  • A massive, complex electromagnetic control system, shaping the signals and possibly pointing them in a specific direction.

  • A star-like energy source or “home star” nearby, sustaining the system.

This is not a backyard science project. It would require an entire planetary system or even stellar-level resources. We’re talking about Type II or III civilizations on the Kardashev Scale—species that can harness the power of stars or entire galaxies.

📡 Can We Detect These Signals?

Here’s where it gets exciting for us.

Jackson and Benford suggest that we might already have the tools to detect these signals. Current instruments like LIGO, or future improved gravitational wave detectors, could possibly catch these high-frequency messages.

However, there’s a catch: the frequency range proposed by the authors is very high—in the GHz range. LIGO and similar detectors are mostly tuned to low frequencies (Hz to kHz). To catch these signals, we would need new types of detectors, possibly in space or cooled to near absolute zero to avoid background noise.

If we can build them, we might find out we’re not alone.

🧬 The Deeper Message: Intelligence Beyond Electromagnetism

This theory also reveals something deeper: We may need to change how we search for intelligent life.

For decades, we’ve assumed that aliens would use the same methods we use—radio waves, lasers, maybe even visual signals. But if other civilizations have progressed far beyond us, they might use completely different methods.

They might see our radio searches the same way we look at smoke signals—primitive and outdated.

Perhaps only by understanding gravity, mastering relativistic physics, and developing interstellar-scale instruments can a species join the galactic network of intelligent life.

And maybe, just maybe, we’re on the verge of that.

🧭 Final Thoughts: A New Path to the Stars?

This idea isn’t science fiction. It’s based on solid physics, advanced theories, and existing gravitational wave science. While we haven’t yet received a gravitational message, the tools and ideas are now in place to start listening.

As LIGO, Virgo, and future detectors evolve, we may soon hear the universe in a completely new way—not in light, but in ripples of spacetime.

And when we do, we may realize that the first alien message wasn’t a radio signal beamed across space…

…but a gentle wave, echoing from a machine orbiting a black hole, whispering through the fabric of the universe.

📚 References

🛰️ Key Takeaways

  • Gravitational waves are a new, powerful way of understanding the universe.

  • Advanced civilizations might use micro black holes to send gravitational wave signals.

  • These messages could be undetectable by traditional radio methods.

  • New detectors tuned to high frequencies may be the key to discovering alien intelligence.

  • We must evolve our search for extraterrestrial life beyond light—and into gravity.

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