<p>A black hole merger can be more powerful.</p>
<p>Power is energy divided by time, and energy can come in many forms. So the most powerful events are short, and might not be very hot or bright.</p>
<p>A powerful (type II) supernova might emit <span class="math-container">$10^{46}$</span> joules over 10 seconds. giving a power of <span class="math-container">$10^{45}$</span> watts. Most of this is in the form of neutrinos, with about 1% converted into light and heat.</p>
<p>By contrast, the merging black holes of GW150914 had <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_black_hole" rel="nofollow noreferrer">a peak power of <span class="math-container">$3.6×10^{49}$</span> watts</a>, 36000 times more than the supernova, over a very short period of time (milliseconds). This was all in the form of gravitational waves, and there was no detected light given off. That is greater than the light power of every star in the observable universe combined.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-30T06:36:27.030Z
2021-08-30T10:19:15.283Z
2021-08-30T10:19:15.283Z
James K
<p>Is this idea disproved these days, please? What are the most powerful events in the universe?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The evolution of hot stars usually ends as core-collapse supernovae,
the most powerful and incredibly luminous events in the universe.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-30T06:39:09.960Z
What is the source of the quote please.
James K
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-30T07:17:15.900Z
It is a wrong statement. Thank you for your answer.
Anna-Kat
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-30T07:26:39.090Z
It might be a useful statement, please tell the source of the statement
James K
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-30T07:29:45.390Z
I wrote that and made mistake in that. It is not a quote. I used inappropriate text format.
Anna-Kat
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-30T12:58:38.927Z
See the "orders of magnitude (power)" wikipedia page at the following link.  It's a fun read!  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(power)
James
<star><stellar-astrophysics>
What is the most powerful events in the universe?
Anna-Kat
# What is the most powerful events in the universe?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-08-30)

Is this idea disproved these days, please? What are the most powerful events in the universe?

> The evolution of hot stars usually ends as core-collapse supernovae,
> the most powerful and incredibly luminous events in the universe.

**Tags:** star, stellar-astrophysics

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: What is the source of the quote please.  
> **username_0**: It is a wrong statement. Thank you for your answer.  
> **username_1**: It might be a useful statement, please tell the source of the statement  
> **username_0**: I wrote that and made mistake in that. It is not a quote. I used inappropriate text format.  
> **username_2**: See the "orders of magnitude (power)" wikipedia page at the following link.  It's a fun read!  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(power)  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-08-30. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

A black hole merger can be more powerful.

Power is energy divided by time, and energy can come in many forms. So the most powerful events are short, and might not be very hot or bright.

A powerful (type II) supernova might emit $10^{46}$ joules over 10 seconds. giving a power of $10^{45}$ watts. Most of this is in the form of neutrinos, with about 1% converted into light and heat.

By contrast, the merging black holes of GW150914 had [a peak power of $3.6×10^{49}$ watts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_black_hole), 36000 times more than the supernova, over a very short period of time (milliseconds). This was all in the form of gravitational waves, and there was no detected light given off. That is greater than the light power of every star in the observable universe combined.


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