Black holes may be the storehouse of information. All this talk of black holes eating information – we hope – is false.

In fact, the idea that data is stored there, even better than any mechanical device or brain, is intriguing. Information is never erased and can rebuild the past through data.

The Physical Review Letters published this theory giving rise to one of the greatest cosmological paradoxes of all time. The same one that brought Stephen Hawking to fame.

What is a black hole… exactly?

A black hole is identified by its mass, spin, and charge, making it difficult to tell exactly what materials make up each individual hole – but not impossible, says the quantum theory. Scientists are upset and have been for many years about the idea that black holes devour all the information, which makes them what they are.

Arguments

Stephen Hawking said that black holes leak radiation, thus eventually destroying the hole. Since the radiation is the only way that information is stored, then the data is lost – gone forever!

In 2004, however, Hawking admitted he could be wrong about the radiation theory. Anshul Saini, Ph.D. of the University of Buffalo, said that radiation is not random as Hawking believed. Hawking, since changing his mind, has attempted to demonstrate how information could be attained by an observer.

This would be a daunting task. In order for observers to attain information, they would have to collect radiation emitted from the black hole. Particles and mediators like photons and gravitons would shape that interaction.

Connections start very small but grow in time. These connections do make a difference but have been ignored in calculations,” says Dr. Dejan Stojkovic, Saini’s supervisor and colleague.

There is a relationship between Hawking’s radiation and other factors like gravitational attraction and light transmitted between particles. This prevents the idea of random radiation and puts a new spin on the idea of information conservation by black holes.

Conclusion

Scientists rest on the idea of information conservation. They believe that information must be immortal in order to tell a story from the past. Black holes hold secrets to existence and to destroy that information would be a travesty. The most important aspects of finding and testing these theories are that the laws of conservation are preserved.

Featured image: Robert Hurt, NASA/JPL-Caltech


Copyright © 2012-2024 Learning Mind. All rights reserved. For permission to reprint, contact us.

power of misfits book banner desktop

Like what you are reading? Subscribe to our newsletter to make sure you don’t miss new thought-provoking articles!

This Post Has One Comment

  1. Shivam Sharma

    Hope we will solve this mystery.

Leave a Reply