The giant vortex mimics black holes so well that it could unlock huge possibilities in black hole research. Essentially, while a regular tornado rips up and circulates trees and houses, a quantum tornado circulates atoms and particles. To get the tornado to mimic a black hole, researchers had to use helium in its ‘superfluid’ state – meaning it had low viscosity and could flow without any resistance. This led them to discover that the tiny waves on the liquid’s