Red matter (Star Trek)

Red matter is a fictional substance that appears in J.J. Abrams' 2009 film Star Trek, which creates a stable black hole when it comes in contact with nuclear matter. As a mysterious liquid that can be used to create a weapon of mass destruction it is reminiscent of the mythical red mercury, purported to be necessary for the construction of nuclear weapons.

In the lead in comic book Star Trek: Countdown the rare mineral decalithium is processed into red matter so that a black hole can be created to avert an impending natural disaster. In the movie, a small amount of red matter is used to destroy the planet Vulcan.

In the latter event, the gravitational pull of the planet had increased enough to endanger the orbiting Enterprise, which suggests the red matter added additional mass to the world, either by pulling such matter from another parallel universe or because the additional bulk was contained in the red matter, suspended in a matrix that neutralizes its gravity and inertia.