Black holes are one of the most devastating
objects in space,
sucking up everything around them.
But there's another space phenomenon
that's just as destructive,
and it's known as a white hole.
Now, what would happen if these two objects
met in space
and fought each other?
Before we get to our fight,
let's see what these two opponents
are all about.
In one corner of space,
we have the black hole.
This legendary space occurrence
is probably pretty familiar to you.
Its signature move is to consume
every piece of matter it comes in contact with.
The white hole,
you're probably less familiar with.
And its signature move
is to expel energy
rather than sucking it in.
So with our two fighters
having completely opposite attack strategies,
who would win?
Despite us not knowing much
about our white hole mystery opponent,
it's much more experienced at
conquering space than the black hole is.
That's right, the white hole
is a proper journeyman and has been roaming space
for millions of years,
kicking butt and taking names.
That's because scientists theorize
that this white hole
used to be a black hole.
Scientists suspect that after millions of years,
black holes will become white holes.
And all the energy
and matter they consumed over the years
will be expelled back into space.
That being said,
when a black hole becomes a white hole
it might not last very long,
so it will need to act quickly if it wants to pick a fight with a black hole.
And despite it being different,
the white hole is still just as destructive as a black hole,
if not more so.
The matter the white hole is ejecting
moves at the speed of light.
So it's safe to say that
the white hole is the veteran fighter in this situation
as opposed to this up-and-coming black hole.
But how much will its experience help it?
After millions of years of
causing destruction throughout the Universe,
our two opponents finally meet.
They've battled asteroids,
planets, and even stars,
but they always managed to survive.
Now, they both face their greatest opponent yet.
As these two massive forces approach each other,
the black hole will instantly get the advantage.
The white hole will do its best to
prevent the black hole from overtaking it.
But unfortunately,
it really doesn't stand a chance.
That's because the white hole has
no choice but to spit energy at its opponent.
Although it was able to defend itself against
everything else in the Universe,
unfortunately, the black hole is its one true match.
The mass the white hole is expelling
is also being turned into energy for the black hole.
This won't be a quick battle either,
as the black hole can feed on the white hole for thousands of years.
And as it keeps feeding,
the black hole is getting larger and larger.
And now, the black hole is ready for the finishing blow.
It completely swallows the white hole.
Now that it's consumed so much energy,
our black hole is more massive than ever.
It might be as big as the Messier 87,
which is 38 billion km (23.6 billion mi) across.
For reference,
that's 3 million times larger than Earth.
So if a white hole and a black hole collided,
we'd have a massive black hole
roaming around the Universe,
destroying everything in its path.
And if it were anywhere near us, well,
that would mean humanity would be in some pretty big trouble.
But we'll leave that story for another WHAT IF.