Black hole bomb

A black hole bomb, also known as a Hawking bomb or simply a black bomb, was any technology that could produce a short-lived black hole by immensely compressing any form of matter. While the black hole itself would be too small (nearly the size of a single atom) to effect the gravity of its surroundings, the energy emitted by the black hole - after succumbing to Hawking radiation - would generate an explosion with the force of up to 5,000,000 megatons of dynamite; this explosion was enough to destroy entire planets. Just about any material with mass could be used as "ammunition" in a black hole bomb, given the bomb itself had the appropriate technology to compress it to the necessary density to cause a massive collapse - otherwise known as the Schwartzchild radius.

Black hole bombs used both conventional presses and gravity generators to cause compression, and require several layers of intensely dense metallic shields to prevent the compression process from destroying the device itself.

History
Researchers have looked into ways to artificially generate black holes for centuries, but of course never went about their experiments in fear of the damage it could cause. Following the Clone Wars, however, Imperial military researchers picked up where their predecessors left off and looked into ways these artificial black holes could be used as weapons. The first prototype black hole bomb - named the Prototype Radial Extreme Compression Device Mark I (PRECD Mk.I) - was designed and constructed by Imperial researchers in 13 BBY, and was intended to be tested on a backwater planet. A scientist involved in the weapon's design team, however, had moral qualms with the weapon's destructive capables and, in a bid to prevent its use, shared the weapon's plans with a resistance group that he had secretly been in league with for years. The group sent resistance fighters to infiltrate the facility that the PRECD Mk.I was located at, where they managed to destroy the prototype and corrupt its design files before fleeing the facility's security personnel.

Years later, another attempt to design an Imperial black hole bomb was initiated, though the overseer of the project, Doctor Pedrin Tallabas, was assassinated by fighters of another resistance group before the design phase could begin. Following Doctor Pedrin's death, all known attempts to create Imperial black hole bombs ceased, and Imperial researchers turned to other superweapon projects. During the Galactic Civil War, a specialized team of Rebel intelligence agents were tasked with keeping tabs on major Imperial research facilities to ensure that no more black hole bombs were planned, as these devices were considered the galaxy's deadliest weapons before the Death Star's discovery.