What is Hawking radiation?
Hawking radiation is the theoretical thermal radiation predicted to be emitted by black holes. It arises from quantum effects near the event horizon. Basically, particle-antiparticle pairs are constantly popping into existence in the vacuum. If this happens near a black hole's horizon, one particle might fall in while the other escapes, carrying energy away from the black hole. Over vast timescales, this would cause black holes to evaporate.
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