Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking proposed numerous theories related to space, black holes, and quantum mechanics. One of his significant theories indicated that black holes release energy referred to as Hawking radiation, leading to the gradual reduction of their weight. This phenomenon is a result of quantum effects close to the black hole edge, known as the event horizon.
Hawking also formulated another theory stating that the surface area of a black hole cannot decrease over time, conflicting with the second law of thermodynamics, indicating that the system’s entropy always increases. This law relates to the surface area of the black hole as its entropy is proportional to it.
A recent study published in the journal Physical Review Letters proves the accuracy of Hawking’s theory about the black hole surface area. Researchers analyzed the fluctuations in space-time known as gravitational waves produced by two colossal black holes spiraling at high speeds towards each other and merging approximately 1.3 billion years ago. The scientists used data from the Laser Interferometric Gravitational Observatory (LIGO) and Virgo to measure the surface area of each black hole before and after merging.
According to the findings, the total surface area of the merged black holes was more significant than the summation of the individual black hole’s surface area before merging, purely supporting Hawking’s predictions.
This discovery holds huge significance in the quest to comprehend black holes’ properties and gain insight into the universe’s nature. The study confirms that if black holes emit radiation and eventually evaporate, they can lose vital information about their initial content, which brings about the paradox of information in black holes, a deep mystery in physics.
The revelation, however, also speculates that black holes’ disappearance may lead to a doomed universe. As black holes are the densest and most massive entities in space, they can be considered a thermodynamic system with specific temperature and entropy. This implies that as the universe reaches a state of thermodynamic equilibrium, where all systems have similar temperature and entropy, all black holes will evaporate, ushering in particle and radiation uniformity, which scientists call the heat death of the universe.
The vast array of contradictions in the properties of black holes and the universe necessitates further experiments using gravitational waves to unravel new laws that explain how they behave and interact.