What Happens to Matter Swallowed by Black Holes? Japanese Physicists May Finally Have an Answer

Several efforts have been made to understand whether information can escape from black holes.

By Edited by Gadgets 360 Newsdesk | Updated: 12 March 2022 14:12 IST

What Happens to Matter Swallowed by Black Holes? Japanese Physicists May Finally Have an Answer

Wormholes are theoretical tunnels with two ends at separate points in spacetime

Highlights

RIKEN scientists say black holes mimic wormholes
Stephen Hawking said black holes should emit radiation as they shrink
This phenoemnon is known as Hawking radiation

A team of physicists may have solved the mystery surrounding the matter that is swallowed by black holes. These physicists considered wormholes — theoretical tunnels with two ends at separate points in spacetime — to explain the long-held mystery. Black holes are regions in space through which no matter can pass. The gravity of a black hole is so strong that it pulls everything inside itself and allows nothing to get out, not even light. A team from Japan's RIKEN research institute said that black holes mimic wormholes, meaning black holes have an escape tunnel to allow matter swallowed by them to release back into the universe.

The model suggested by these scientists, including RIKEN Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences researcher Kanato Goto, appears similar to the concept seen in popular science fiction movies. However, if validated, it could solve a long-standing information paradox about black holes.

According to Albert Einstein's Theory Of General Relativity, nothing can escape from a black hole. But Stephen Hawking predicted in the 1970s that black holes should emit radiation (Hawking radiation) as they shrink. This is known as black hole “evaporation”. If Hawking's concept is considered, the information about the matter a black hole swallowed should also evaporate with the black hole. But quantum physics says information cannot simply disappear from the Universe, leading to the paradox.

Space-Time Travel Through Wormholes Could Be a Possiblity: Study

"This suggests that general relativity and quantum mechanics as they currently stand are inconsistent with each other. We have to find a unified framework for quantum gravity," Goto said in a statement.

Scientists Finally Prove Einstein's Black Hole Light-Ejecting Theory Correct

Several efforts have been made to understand whether information can escape from black holes, but a definite answer is still warranted. In theory, Goto and his colleagues have found an explanation to what happens to this information. "A wormhole connects the interior of the black hole and the radiation outside, like a bridge," he said. But some questions remain unanswered. "We still don't know the basic mechanism of how information is carried away by the radiation," Goto added.

This week on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast, we dive into Apple's Peek Performance event. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.