---
title: "Researchers: Some Black Holes May Contain a “Fractal Universe”"
description: "Astrophysicist Paul Sutter explores the implications of new research about a hypothetical type of black hole that would contain a \"fractal universe.\""
date: "2020-10-09"
modified: "2020-10-09"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/black-holes-fractal-universe"
categories:
  - "Astrophysics"
  - "Black Holes"
  - "Physics"
  - "Science & Energy"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "astrophysics"
  - "Black holes"
  - "fractals"
  - "the digest"
---

# Researchers: Some Black Holes May Contain a “Fractal Universe”

![Astrophysicist Paul Sutter explores the implications of new research about a hypothetical type of black hole that would contain a "fractal universe."](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/black-holes-fractal-universe.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Pexels / Futurism\</em\>*

## Fractalverse

Writing for *Live Science*, astrophysicist Paul Sutter [explores the mind-bending implications](<https://www.livescience.com/bizarre-charged-black-holes.html>) of new research about a hypothetical type of black hole that would contain a "fractal universe" that broke all normal physical laws.

"It would be a mini fractal universe, repeating endlessly from large scales to small," Sutter wrote. "It's downright impossible to describe what it would be like to traverse such a landscape, but it would surely be weird."

## Charge Card

The research in question is available in a [pre-print paper](<https://arxiv.org/abs/2008.12786>) by researchers at Stanford and several other institutions. It explores "charged black holes in anti-de Sitter space" — an exotic type of black hole that has not been confirmed in the actual universe.

"The researchers discovered that the innermost regions of a superconductor black hole can feature an expanding universe in grotesque miniature, a place where space can stretch and deform at different rates in different directions," Sutter explained.

## Upside Down

The paper is dense, and according to Sutter's analysis, the researchers still can't speculate on what would happen at the singularity where the black hole's density becomes infinite. But it's still a hallucinogenic account of physics that fall completely outside normal experience.

"Who knows what you'll find at the center of a superconductor black hole, but at least you'll enjoy the ride down," Sutter wrote.

**READ MORE:** [A mini fractal universe may lie inside charged black holes (if they exist)](<https://www.livescience.com/bizarre-charged-black-holes.html>) \[*Live Science*\]

**More on black holes:** [*We May Be Able to Extract “Movies” of the Universe From Black Holes*](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/movies-universe-black-holes>)

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)