Using a black hole for acceleration?

Question

If you attached an object (say a space ship) to an extremely long cable of remarkable strength (like graphite or diamond) and the end of the cable is cast into a black hole (by "cast into" of course I mean "launched into from hopefully billions of miles away") what would happen? I know that you couldn't pull it back out - an infinite amount of force would be insufficient - but could this be a practical means of interstellar acceleration, especially if life support and DEceleration aren't a problem (like probes)? How fast exactly would the space ship accelerate? Would it at all?

My question isn't so much "would this be the best way" - it's "would it work AT ALL and how much acceleration would theoretically infinite power produce?"

Again, it's not a question of feasability, it's a question of theory! And in any case, you wouldn't need a multi-lightyear tether to test it. Just launch the (short) cable and the probe at the same time towards the black hole, but the cable first. After the black hole accelerates the probe, the probe burns some fuel to "dodge" the black hole and continues on its way.

Answer 1

That might work. Carbon nanotubes could be used to make an extremely strong tether. But you have to get near a black hole first. The nearest one we know of is many light years away. Since out fastest space craft, voyager 2, is less than one light day away, even after traveling for decades, getting to the black hole in the first place will be a problem. If we could go all those light years before using the tether, we probably don't need it anyway.

Answer 2

The blackhole isn't pulling inwards with some mysterious force that is different from all other objects. The force pulling stuff in is just gravity.

Imagine parking a spacecraft a few hunred miles above a large planet and lowering a long cable down to the surface. You don't suddenly get a considerable acceleration towards the planet. There would be a great attraction between the planet and the ship (since a portion of the ship's mass is now closer to the planet), but nothing you'd want to conduct serious space travel with.

Answer 3

This wouldn't work, the cable would be destroyed. A couple other points though.
You wouldn't need a cable to use the black hole for acceleration. Just approach it, stay clear of the event horizon and slingshot around it. Also, an infinite amount of force would allow you to escape a black hole or in fact, anything.

Answer 4

I think the more logical method would be to use the black hole's gravitational pull as an accelerant via circumnavigating the black hole (yay big words!). Meaning, instead of a superstrong cable (protein nanocables would be stronger than diamond anyway) that would be lost forever in the black hole, you could just imitate the astronauts of the Apollo missions and "slingshot" around the blackhole.

Answer 5

It would be cool, but if you could streach a cord all the way to a black hole you will have done the following.

1# You will have used the entire solar system carbon to construct such a cord as the nearest black hole is lightyears away.

#2 Have traveled to the black hole to get the cord there, which presupposes interstellar travel.

#3 Wasted alot of time

Still its a very interesting concept

Answer 6

the cable would cease to exist once it passed the event horizon at the edge of the black hole, thereby cutting it. perhaps, you could use the black holes gravity to give you a sling shot effect, however, this would be risky, and there would be no room for error. so little is known of gravity, it would be best to have more complete data before an attempt with an unmanned craft. surely to realize the full acceleration potential would mean demise.

Answer 7

You must be able to do this.....I have seen this done in the movies. Then again, I don't think the ship: U.S.S. Cygnus, makes out well at all (Blackhole 1979 Disney film for example).

Answer 8

If you could put the cable in safely and that the cable won't break (anything would) theoretically it would work.