This passage discusses Stephen Hawking's discovery of Hawking radiation, which occurs near black holes due to a combination of general relativity and quantum field theory. It explains how quantum fluctuations near the black hole's horizon can result in real particles, causing the black hole to slowly lose energy and eventually evaporate. This radiation is thermal and corresponds to the black hole's temperature. While Hawking radiation has theoretical significance, it's currently undetectable due to its extremely weak nature. The passage also mentions the information paradox and the entanglement paradox associated with black holes, highlighting the challenges they pose to current physics models.
Sure, here are the key facts extracted from the provided text:
1. Our universe is described by two theories: General relativity and quantum field theory.
2. These two theories are currently irreconcilable.
3. Stephen Hawking discovered Hawking radiation in 1974.
4. Hawking radiation is produced by black holes and causes them to evaporate.
5. Black holes are regions of intense gravity where nothing can escape.
6. Black holes radiate, but this radiation is indirect and comes from matter outside the black hole.
7. The notion of "vacuum" and "particles" is relative, depending on the observer's perspective.
8. Black holes have a temperature corresponding to their radiation energy.
9. Large black holes are very cold, while small black holes have higher temperatures.
10. Black holes can absorb energy from the cosmic microwave background.
11. Hawking radiation remains a theoretical result and cannot be detected at present.
12. The phenomenon of black hole evaporation raises questions and generates paradoxes in modern physics, including the information paradox.
13. The information captured by a black hole may be lost forever or frozen on the horizon.
14. Hawking radiation has implications for the foundations of our current models and the search for a "theory of everything."
These facts are presented in the order they appear in the text.