Studying Black Holes in the Lab

Alien54 writes: "As seen in this UPI Report, Lab-created "dumb holes" - the acoustic, or sound wave analogs of black holes - may provide important experimental evidence for quantum gravity, a theory that unifies atomic and gravitational forces. Dumb holes arise when fluids flowing faster than the speed of sound form regions that trap sound waves. They too have a surface of no return -- the "acoustic horizon". While black holes remain interstellar objects, researchers can create dumb holes (Sonic Black Holes) in a laboratory. Dumb holes that trap sound waves may yield experimental evidence used to understand quantum gravity because these acoustic black holes exhibit all the characteristics - paradoxes included - of their light-wave brethren. well not quite all. For one thing, sonic black holes do not involve gravity and distortions of space and time."

Useful for avaiding trouble

[erlenic]

So now when my girlfriend acuses me of not listening to her, I can just tell her that I didn't hear her because there was an acoustic black hole in the room! And to think, some people think that research like this doesn't do anything to advance mankind!

In a Dumb Hole

[oni]

No one can hear you scream.

huh?

[Gyl]

"For one thing, sonic black holes do not involve gravity and distortions of space and time."

So how does this help us get experimental evidence of quantum gravity?!

Hawking Radiation

[1D10T]

Do Dumb holes also emit the acoustic equivalent of Hawking Radiation?

Wormholes

[rhdfhfdhfh]

Is there also a possibility that these "dumb holes" are spewing out sound somewhere else in the universe, or in another universe altogether?
I can imagine that if a "sound hole" opened up on another planet, aliens would get a bit of a shock when from close behind them invisibly comes the sound... "hello? testing, testing. hey cool, its absorbing my voice...".

Re:Wormholes

[funaho]

Of course this brings up memories of a certain freak wormhole in the Hitchhiker's Guide....

"I seem to be having tremendous difficulty with my lifestyle." :)

Maybe it was actually a dumb hole.