Astronomy: Hawking Radiation

Hawking Radiation Hawking radiation is black-body radiation released outside a black hole's event horizon due to quantum effects according to a model developed by Stephen Hawking in 1974. The radiation was not predicted by previous models which assumed that once electromagnetic radiation is inside the event horizon, it cannot escape.

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Commentary

Hawking Radiation Hawking radiation is black-body radiation released outside a black hole's ev ent horizon due to quantum effects according to a model developed by Stephen Hawking in 1974. The radiation was not predicted by previous models which assumed that once electromagnetic radiation is inside the event horizon, it cannot escape. Hawking radiation is predicted to be extremely faint and is many orders of magnitude below the current best telescopes' detecting ability.

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Why Hawking Radiation matters: These foundational ideas and techniques are the tools astronomers use to measure, classify, and understand everything from nearby planets to the most distant galaxies. Ha wking radiation would reduce the mass and rotational energy of black holes and consequently cause black hole evaporation. Because of this, black holes that do not gain mass through other means are expected to shrink and ultimately vanish. For all except the smallest black holes, this happens extremely slowly. The radiation temperature, called Hawking temperature, is inversely proportional to the black hole's mass, so micro black holes are predicted to be larger emitters of radiation than larger black holes and should dissipate faster per their mass. Consequently, if small black holes exist, as permitted by the hypothesis of primordial black holes, they will lose mass more rapidly as they shrink, leading to a final cataclysm of high energy radiation alone. Such radiation bursts have not yet been detected.

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Deep dive: Hawking Radiation Because of this, black holes that do not gain mass through other means are expected to shrink and ultimately vanish. For all excep t the smallest black holes, this happens extremely slowly. The radiation temperature, called Hawking temperature, is inversely proportional to the black hole's mass, so micro black holes are predicted to be larger emitters of radiation than larger black holes and should dissipate faster per their mass. Consequently, if small black holes exist, as permitted by the hypothesis of primordial black holes, they will lose mass more rapidly as they shrink, leading to a final cataclysm of high energy radiation alone. Such radiation bursts have not yet been detected. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawking_radiation (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)