Red matter

Red matter is an exotic substance that appears in the 2009 Star Trek movie.

Red matter is an artificial material created by the Vulcan Science Academy in the 2380's. Manufacturing red matter requires an extremely rare mineral called "decalithium".

When activated, red matter creates a black hole, which then consumes any nearby matter to increase its mass. A tiny volume of red matter is sufficient to start the process.

The exact conditions for activating red matter aren't clear, although a matter-antimatter explosion such as that of a warp core breach or photon torpedo detonation appears to be sufficient.