The sad demise of the famous physicist Stephen Hawking has left an enormous vacuum in the field of science. Astrophysics nerds, sci-fi movie lovers and those who are curious about exploring the universe, are already well aware of who was Stephen Hawking, the second great scientist of the twentieth century, after Einstein. But, the way people have paid tribute to the Hawking has made everyone search for his significant discoveries, notably the enigma of black holes.
So, what are these black holes and what was the Stephen Hawking’s discovery of these mysterious and rather monstrous objects in the universe?
How Black Holes Exist
In simple words, black holes are black stars, which don’t glow. They existed since the Big Bang (which is believed to be the start of this universe), few are created as result of exploding stars, and few are merely dying stars.
So, what are they so notorious for?
These never bright and invisible stars are famous for engulfing and entrapping the objects, particles, and everything that comes across them. Due to their strong gravitational pull whatever goes inside them, never comes out. So, they are more like Bermuda Triangle to this universe.
Do Black Holes Die?
Before the discovery of Stephen Hawking, it was believed that Black Holes don’t die. But Hawking revealed that black holes do disappear, but it takes billions of billions of billions of years for a black hole to die out as a result of the massive explosion, which may not have a significant effect on Universe.
(Credit – Deep Astronomy)
So, How Black Holes Get Wasted?
Explaining the mystery of a black hole’s life and death was one of the most significant contributions that world remembered on Stephen Hawking’s death. The scientist did a remarkable thing of unifying the theory of general relativity and the theory of quantum mechanics and ended up giving a theory of everything.
—excerpt from Stephen Hawking’s BBC Reith Lecture on black holes pic.twitter.com/gXWObCy6vf
— Mohamed Hisham (@hishaamu) 14 March 2018
In this particular context, the theory of general relativity explains how black holes eat up everything and never let it escape. And, the theory of quantum mechanics explains how one thing manages to get out of the black hole, and it is radiation, known as Hawking Radiation in this case.
So, Stephen Hawking described that as radiation in the form of positive energy emits out, leaving behind the negative one, the black hole slowly and gradually wastes away. But, the process of its death takes billions of years.
The thing about black holes is that they are full of stars and light. We fear their mystery and forget the beauty they have taken into themselves.
— Vincent Van Gone (@VVanGone) 15 March 2018
Understanding the Process of Their Death
Well, what happens, inside the black hole and how it dies is not so simple to comprehend as knowing how many rings does Jupiter has. One needs to have a basic knowledge of the two critical theories, the theory of relativity and the theory of quantum mechanics to understand the mystery of these black stars.