It's time to stop teaching the biggest lie about Hawking radiation

"For many good reasons, black holes are among the most studied objects in the entire Universe. Initially predicted back in the late 18th century in the context of Newtonian gravity, black holes were shown to arise in the context of general relativity as early as 1916. Astrophysically, they can be formed when gas clouds collapse, when the cores of stars implode, or when two neutron stars collide, among other mechanisms."

"But perhaps, most remarkably of all, it was shown in the early 1970s that black holes cannot endure forever, but will eventually evaporate due to the continuous spontaneous emission of radiation that emerges from them: Hawking radiation. But how does Hawking radiation truly work? The most common misconception was put forth by Hawking himself: that it's particle-antiparticle pairs, popping in-and-out of existence, near the event horizon."

"That false explanation - one not supported by the physics - was prominently put forth and promoted by Hawking, and continues to misinform generations of physicists and laypersons alike. It's even the subject of a recent article appearing in The Physics Teacher, the leading journal of the American Association of Physics Teachers, in what can only be described as an attempt to misinform yet another generation of physicists, physics teachers, and physics students, despite the death of Hawking himself back in 2018."

Black holes are among the most studied objects in the Universe. Initially predicted in the late 18th century under Newtonian gravity and found in general relativity by 1916, black holes form when gas clouds collapse, stellar cores implode, or neutron stars collide. Observational evidence includes electromagnetic emissions from accreting matter, orbital motions of nearby stars and companions, and gravitational waves from mergers. Hawking radiation causes black holes to evaporate via spontaneous quantum emission. The common particle–antiparticle pair popping picture, with one falling as negative energy and the other escaping, is incorrect and not supported by the physics, yet remains widespread and misleading.

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