(ORDO NEWS) — By simulating the event horizon of a black hole using a chain of atoms, the researchers demonstrated the existence of the Hawking radiation described by the late physicist.
Scientists have created a lab-grown analogue of a black hole to test one of Stephen Hawking’s most famous theories, and it behaves exactly as Hawking predicted.
The experiment, created using a single row of atomic strings to simulate a black hole’s event horizon, is further support for Hawking’s theory that a black hole should radiate faint radiation from virtual particles that randomly appear near its boundary.
What’s more, the researchers found that most of the light particles, or photons, formed around the edge of the space monster.
According to quantum field theory, there is no absolute vacuum; instead, space is filled with tiny vibrations that, if filled with enough energy, randomly break into virtual particles – particles that almost instantly annihilate each other (pairs of antiparticles), resulting in light.
In 1974, Stephen Hawking predicted that the extreme gravity felt at the mouth of a black hole (event horizon) would thus produce photons.
According to Einstein’s general theory of relativity, gravity distorts spacetime. So the closer a quantum field gets to the massive gravitational pull of a black hole singularity, the more it curves.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.