The Mysteries of Black Hole Evaporation Explained
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Chapter 1: Understanding Black Hole Radiation
Recently, I received an inquiry on my Ukrainian channel regarding the intricate topic of black hole evaporation, specifically Hawking radiation. The question posed was whether the evaporation process contradicts the fundamental nature of black holes, from which no information is supposed to escape.
Hawking radiation refers to the mechanism through which black holes dissipate mass by emitting energy.
How Evaporation Occurs
When we treat black holes as relativistic entities, one might assume that evaporation is impossible. However, the theory of relativity does not encompass all phenomena in contemporary physics. Instead, quantum theory provides predictions about black hole evaporation. In a vacuum, pairs of particles and antiparticles are perpetually created. In the absence of a black hole, these pairs annihilate each other, returning energy to the vacuum, in a process termed vacuum polarization or boiling.
Once a black hole is involved, things change dramatically. The event horizon marks the point of no return; nothing can escape from within this boundary. Imagine a particle-antiparticle pair forming right at this threshold. In such a scenario, one particle crosses into our universe while the other is swallowed by the black hole. The particle that escapes takes energy from the black hole itself.
This process adheres to the law of conservation of energy, meaning that the particle that emerges derives its energy from the black hole, leading to what we call Hawking radiation. As a result, black holes gradually lose energy, and according to the equation E=mc², they consequently lose mass.
How Long Until a Black Hole Fully Evaporates?
Now, you may wonder about the duration it takes for a black hole to evaporate entirely. Rather than delving into complex mathematics, let's consider some straightforward figures: a solar mass black hole might take billions of years to evaporate. In contrast, a black hole weighing 3,500 tons will evaporate in about one hour, while one with a mass of 10,000 tons will take roughly a day. A black hole weighing just one ton could vanish in mere fractions of a second. The smaller the black hole, the quicker its evaporation.
Ultimately, the complete mass of the black hole transforms into energy, a release comparable to the simultaneous detonation of millions of atomic bombs akin to those dropped on Hiroshima.
It's important to note that the evaporation of a black hole does not contradict the principle that nothing can escape from it; the particles emitted originate outside the event horizon.
Interestingly, it is precisely due to Hawking radiation (alongside other factors) that experiments conducted at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) pose no danger. Any microscopic black hole produced in the LHC will evaporate almost instantaneously!
The first video, How Do Black Holes Evaporate?, provides an in-depth look at this fascinating process.
The second video, 18 Subatomic Stories: When Black Holes Evaporate, further explores the implications of black hole evaporation on our understanding of the universe.
If you are interested in learning more about cosmic phenomena, feel free to subscribe to our channel and ask any questions you might have. I will address them in upcoming articles!