Humans are quite rightly fascinated by black holes, but could we ever harness them as an energy source? New research poses this question in order to explore some of the most wonderous cosmic events.

Black holes are bounded by outer barriers called event horizons that prevent us from ever viewing their interiors or their hearts, singularities at which all known laws of physics collapse. This means black holes couldn't be more mysterious. Black holes are also unlike anything found on Earth or in the solar system in another respect: their sheer power.

When surrounded by matter, black holes can be responsible for the most energetic phenomena in the known universe, including quasars that outshine the combined light of the billions of stars found in the galaxies that contain them. It's little wonder that physicists have long pondered if some of this energy could be harvested.