[stremba]

Nothing escapes is actually a very good approximation. The phenomenon that you refer to is Hawking radiation and it’s extremely weak. Essentially general relativity says nothing escapes, but when you factor quantum mechanics in that’s no longer strictly true. QM says that in high energy environments a particle-antiparticle pair can form. Just by chance, occasionally they will form with one on each side of the black hole event horizon, allowing one to escape. It’s very rare and quite weak, so nothing escapes is still a pretty good approximation

[Lazamataz]

Nothing escapes is actually a very good approximation. The phenomenon that you refer to is Hawking radiation and it’s extremely weak. Essentially general relativity says nothing escapes, but when you factor quantum mechanics in that’s no longer strictly true. QM says that in high energy environments a particle-antiparticle pair can form. Just by chance, occasionally they will form with one on each side of the black hole event horizon, allowing one to escape. It’s very rare and quite weak, so nothing escapes is still a pretty good approximation

But eventually, all black holes will wink out.

Quadrillions or quintillions of years will pass, but they, too, will disappear.

[trebb]

Thank you - that actually clarified it in my mind.