ergosphere

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noun

A region outside the event horizon of a rotating black hole in which space and time are distorted by shear forces.

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Meanings

nounergosphere (plural ergospheres)

plural ergospheres

  1. natural sciencesA region outside the event horizon of a rotating black hole in which space and time are distorted by shear forces.

Origin

From ergo- + -sphere. Coined by Remo Ruffini and John Archibald Wheeler in 1971 in reference to the fact that it is theoretically possible to extract energy from the region.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French ergosphère
  • ergosphèreregion outside the event horizon of a black hole
Cite this entry
APA

ergosphere. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ergosphere

MLA

“ergosphere.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ergosphere. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ergosphere,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ergosphere.

Source: ergosphere on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.