2003/11/27 by Jacob D. Bekenstein
Physics and Astronomy · #gr-qc #astro-ph #hep-th
published as Inquiring the Universe, ed. J. M. Salim, S. E. P. Bergliaffa, L. A. Oliveira and V. A. De Lorenci (Frontier Group 2003), pp 17-32 · Essay in honor of Mario Novello's sixtieth birthday. LaTeX 209, 12 pages, no figures
arxiv created 2003/11/27 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
Measurements of the mass or angular momentum of a black hole are onerous, particularly if they have to be frequently repeated, as when one is required to transform a black hole to prescribed parameters. Irradiating a black hole of the Kerr-Newman family with scalar or electromagnetic waves provides a way to drive it to prescribed values of its mass, charge and angular momentum without the need to repeatedly measure mass or angular momentum throughout the process. I describe the mechanism, which is based on Zel'dovich-Misner superradiance and its analog for charged black holes. It represents a possible step in the development of preparation procedures for quantum black holes.