Physicists in Israel have devised a black hole analogue only, rather than being a gravitational fortex that doesn’t allow light to escape, this particular object is a sonic black hole that doesn’t allow sound waves to escape. In the process, the researchers measured the long-theorized Hawking radiation, with important consequences for physics.
A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravity pulls so strongly that even light cannot get out once it crosses a point of no return, known as the event horizon but you probably knew that already. What may be new to you is that almost 50 years ago, Stephen Hawking proposed a more nuanced view whereby black holes can also generate light.
March 3, 2021
Scientists create a sonic black hole in the lab, confirming Stephen Hawking’s theory by Jake Pearson
Israeli physicists have created a black hole analog – instead of being a gravitational fortress that allows light to escape, this particular object is a sonic black hole that does not allow sound waves to escape. In the process, the researchers measured long-term theoretical Hawking radiation, with significant consequences for physics.
A black hole is an area of space-time where even light cannot escape once it crosses an irreversible stage known as the event horizon. What seems new to you, about 50 years ago, was put forward by Stephen Hawking as a more subtle view that could create light for black holes as well.