Full Breakdown
Synthetic Rotation Replicates Penrose-Zel’dovich Energy Extraction in the Lab
7/14/2026, 11:20:17 AM
Laboratory Demonstration of Synthetic Rotation
Researchers at the Advanced Science Research Center at the City University of New York Graduate Center (CUNY-ASRC) have experimentally realized a long-standing theoretical prediction: electromagnetic waves can extract energy from a rapidly rotating system without any physical motion. By rapidly modulating the properties of a ring of electronic resonators, the team created a traveling pattern that mimics ultrafast rotation, allowing waves with suitable rotational characteristics to be amplified. The experiment reproduces the essential physics of the Penrose process, first proposed by Sir Roger Penrose, and its extension by Yakov Zel’dovich, in which energy is drawn from a rotating black-hole ergosphere or a fast-spinning object.
Experimental Method and Observations
The stationary device consisted of a circular array of resonators whose parameters were changed in a synchronized sequence, generating a synthetic rotation that far exceeds speeds achievable by mechanical means. When radio-frequency waves entered the system, those matching the engineered rotational mode extracted energy and emerged with increased amplitude. Co-lead author Hady Moussa confirmed that “waves with the appropriate rotational characteristics extracted energy from the system and became amplified, reproducing the essential physics of the Penrose–Zel’dovich process.”
Potential Applications and Future Work
Synthetic rotation offers a controllable platform for probing extreme-physics regimes that are otherwise inaccessible, including phenomena faster than light in a laboratory setting. The researchers suggest that the approach could inform advances in wireless communications, optics, photonics, and quantum technologies, though further development is required before practical devices emerge.
Official Statements & Funding
Principal investigator Andrea Alù described the work as “a new method of wave-matter interaction… producing a form of broadband selective amplification.” Lead author Hadiseh Nasari emphasized that the experiment “moves ideas about extreme rotational dynamics from theory to practice.” The project received financial support from the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. National Science Foundation, and the Simons Foundation.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Our approach facilitates a new method of wave-matter interaction in which waves with selected rotational properties extract energy from synthetic time-engineered rotation, producing a form of broadband selective amplification,” — Andrea Alù, Distinguished Professor, CUNY Graduate Center
- “According to lead author Hadiseh Nasari, a post-doctoral researcher with the CUNY ASRC’s Photonics Initiative, the success of the experiment shows it can be done: This successful experiment moves ideas about extreme rotational dynamics from theory to practice and creates a versatile experimental platform for exploring a broad range of phenomena at the intersection of astrophysics, wave physics, and quantum science.” — Hadiseh Nasari, Post-doctoral Researcher, CUNY-ASRC
- “As co-lead author Hady Moussa, a former PhD student with the CUNY ASRC Photonics Initiative, added: Waves with the appropriate rotational characteristics extracted energy from the system and became amplified, reproducing the essential physics of the Penrose–Zel’dovich process.” — Hady Moussa, former PhD student, CUNY-ASRC
- “Our approach relies on engineered metamaterials that are designed to control how waves propagate.” — Hady Moussa, former PhD student, CUNY-ASRC
