Latest news with #Hawking-like
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
The End of The Universe May Not Be as Far Off as Once Thought
A new calculation of the end of the Universe suggests that the end of all things will come a lot sooner than our previous calculations indicated. Once the Hawking-like radiation emitted by everything in the Universe is taken into account, the functional end of the Universe is a mere 1078 years hence. Okay, so humanity will well and truly be dead by then, sure – but it's a lot less than the 101,100 years we thought the Universe had. "So the ultimate end of the Universe comes much sooner than expected," says astrophysicist Heino Falcke of Radboud University in the Netherlands, "but fortunately it still takes a very long time." The work is a direct follow-up on a 2023 paper, in which Falcke and his colleagues, Michael Wondrak and Walter van Suijlekom, found that black holes are not the only things in the Universe that emit Hawking radiation. Rather, less dense objects could also undergo a gradual evaporation in the form of Hawking radiation, or something like it. It's a little complicated, and we go into it in more detail here if you need a refresher, but the basic gist is that Hawking-like radiation – the spontaneous production of particles that fly off, carrying some of the black hole's energy with them – can happen at less extreme space-time curvatures. Traditionally it was thought to require an event horizon – the point at which the gravitational pull of a black hole is so strong that even light speed is no longer sufficient to attain escape velocity. However, the team found in the 2023 study that it could also occur around other ultradense or very massive objects. This means that the space warping around neutron stars and white dwarfs, as well as massive galaxy clusters, should also be facilitating evaporation, according to the team's model. "After a very long period, that would lead to everything in the Universe eventually evaporating, just like black holes," Falcke explained in 2023. "This changes not only our understanding of Hawking radiation but also our view of the Universe and its future." Well, the obvious next question is: how long is that going to take? So, the team knuckled down and crunched the numbers. White dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes all belong to the same family of objects. They're what's left of a star after it dies; the outer material is ejected, and the core collapses into an ultradense object. A star up to around 8 times the mass of the Sun turns into a white dwarf, which has an upper mass limit of 1.4 Suns. Massive stars between 8 and 30 solar masses produce neutron stars with an upper mass limit of around 2.3 solar masses. Stars more massive than 30 solar masses become black holes. There are limits there, too; they're not relevant right now, but you can read a little about it here if you like. The denser an object is, the more extreme its gravitational field. Of the three objects, black holes are the most dense, and white dwarfs the least. This means that white dwarfs would take the longest time to evaporate; the time it takes for a white dwarf to die is the yardstick by which the team measured the remaining lifespan of the Universe. Because black holes have the highest density and therefore the strongest gravitational fields, the team expected that they would take the shortest time to evaporate. Well, they were sort of right. It takes 1067 to 1068 years for a stellar mass black hole to whistle away to nothing – but, surprisingly, it takes neutron stars about the same amount of time. There's a pretty interesting reason for this. "Black holes have no surface," Wondrak says. "They reabsorb some of their own radiation, which inhibits the process." For an average white dwarf, the team calculated a lifespan of 1078 years, putting a rough upper limit on the lifespan of regular matter in the Universe. There are, however, things in the Universe that would take longer than a white dwarf – assuming, of course, that no other fate befell them in the meantime. It would take the Moon 1089 years to evaporate. A human body would take 1090 years… so, even if we wanted to live forever, we might eventually run into an obstacle there. A supermassive black hole would take 1096 years, while the giant halo of dark matter that engulfs a galactic supercluster would take 10135 years. Even that is far shorter than the 101,100-year lifespan based on the previous estimated lifespan of a white dwarf remnant. Obviously none of this is really going to cause us any problems. Even if humanity does somehow become interstellar before the death of the Sun in 5 billion years, we'd have to then somehow continue existing for many times the current lifespan of the Universe. What the team hopes is that their results will help us understand the Universe a little better before we go. And that, at least, we may still have time for. "By asking these kinds of questions and looking at extreme cases," van Suijlekom says, "we want to better understand the theory, and perhaps one day, we unravel the mystery of Hawking radiation." The research has been published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics. We Finally Know Why Ancient Roman Concrete Lasts Thousands of Years Scientists Witness Lead Literally Turn Into Gold in The Large Hadron Collider Physicists Capture First-Ever Images of Free-Range Atoms
Scottish Sun
13-05-2025
- Science
- Scottish Sun
Terrifying ‘death date' of the universe moves much CLOSER as scientists reveal exactly when all the stars will go out
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) OUR universe is set to end far sooner than we thought – so if you planned on living forever, there's bad news. Scientists have calculated a possible "death date" for our universe, revealing how long it will take for all stars to decay. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 This is an artistic impression of a neutron star "evaporating" slowly through Hawking-like radiation – and they mean very slowly Credit: Daniëlle Futselaar/ 5 The universe is brimming with galaxies packed with stars – but one day, they'll all go out Credit: NASA Thankfully this terrifying dead universe is so far in the future that you won't have to cancel any plans. The prediction is 10 to the power of 78 years away – or a one followed by 78 zeroes. Written out, that looks like: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years. That's a lot of candles for the universe's final birthday cake. This "end" is due to take place through an "evaporation"-like process where objects in the universe ultimately decay. This is through a process similar to something called Hawking radiation, which is where black holes decay over time. And through a series of calculations, scientists were able to show how long it might take for other objects to decay too. "The researchers calculated that the end of the universe is about 10^78 years away (a 1 with 78 zeros), if only Hawking-like radiation is taken into account," Radboud University Nijmegen noted. "This is the time it takes for white dwarf stars, the most persistent celestial bodies, to decay via Hawking-like radiation." Previous studies that have examined the end of the universe didn't take this effect into account. Terrifying Nasa simulation lets you 'plunge' into black hole to 'point of no return' that would rip your body apart So the earlier estimation showed the lifetime of white dwarfs as 10 to the power of 1,100 years – or a one followed by 1,100 zeroes. That's far longer than the latest estimate, although both numbers are incomprehensibly large that it's unlikely to affect humans. "So the ultimate end of the universe comes much sooner than expected," said study lead author Heino Falcke. "But fortunately it still takes a very long time." 5 Scientists were able to calculate how long it would take a white dwarf to decay Credit: Getty HAWKING RADIATION Hawking radiation is named after famed English theoretical physicist and Cambridge professor Stephen Hawking. In the 1970s, Hawking suggested that radiation could escape from a black hole. "At the edge of a black hole, two temporary particles can form, and before they merge, one particle is sucked into the black hole and the other particle escapes," the Radboud University Nijmegen explained. "One of the consequences of this so-called Hawking radiation is that a black hole very slowly decays into particles and radiation. 5 Cambridge scientist Stephen Hawking famously suggested that radiation could escape from a black hole Credit: Getty What is a black hole? The key facts Here's what you need to know... A black hole is a region of space where absolutely nothing can escape That's because they have extremely strong gravitational effects, which means once something goes into a black hole, it can't come back out They get their name because even light can't escape once it's been sucked in – which is why a black hole is dark What is an event horizon? The point at which you can no longer escape from a black hole's gravitational pull is called the event horizon The event horizon varies between different black holes, depending on their mass and size What is a singularity? The gravitational singularity is the very centre of a black hole It's a one-dimensional point that contains an incredibly large mass in an infinitely small space At the singularity, space-time curves infinitely, and the gravitational pull is infinitely strong Conventional laws of physics stop applying at this point How are black holes created? Most black holes are made when a supergiant star dies This happens when stars run out of fuel – like hydrogen – to burn, causing the star to collapse When this happens, gravity pulls the center of the star inwards quickly and collapses into a tiny ball Part of the star collapses inward thanks to gravity, and the rest of the star explodes outwards The remaining central ball is extremely dense, and if it's especially dense, you get a black hole 5 This image captured by the Event Horizon Telescope shows a black hole at the centre of galaxy M87 Credit: Getty "This contradicts Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, which says that black holes can only grow." Scientists working on this new study calculated that this "evaporation" process can also apply to other objects with a gravitational field – not just black holes. They also checked to see how long it would take the Moon and a human to decay in this way. And it turns out that it would take us 10 to the power of 90 years (or one with 90 zeroes) to disappear. But there are lots of other reasons why the Moon and humans won't make it anywhere close to that distant time.
The Irish Sun
13-05-2025
- Science
- The Irish Sun
Terrifying ‘death date' of the universe moves much CLOSER as scientists reveal exactly when all the stars will go out
OUR universe is set to end far sooner than we thought – so if you planned on living forever, there's bad news. Scientists have calculated a possible "death date" for our universe, revealing how long it will take for all stars to decay. 5 This is an artistic impression of a neutron star "evaporating" slowly through Hawking-like radiation – and they mean very slowly Credit: Daniëlle Futselaar/ 5 The universe is brimming with galaxies packed with stars – but one day, they'll all go out Credit: NASA Thankfully this terrifying dead universe is so far in the future that you won't have to cancel any plans. The prediction is 10 to the power of 78 years away – or a one followed by 78 zeroes. Written out, that looks like: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years. That's a lot of candles for the universe's final birthday cake. Read more on space This "end" is due to take place through an "evaporation"-like process where objects in the universe ultimately decay. This is through a process similar to something called Hawking radiation, which is where And through a series of calculations, scientists were able to show how long it might take for other objects to decay too. "The researchers calculated that the end of the universe is about 10^78 years away (a 1 with 78 zeros), if only Hawking-like radiation is taken into account," Radboud University Nijmegen noted. Most read in Science "This is the time it takes for white dwarf stars, the most persistent celestial bodies, to decay via Hawking-like radiation." Previous studies that have examined the end of the universe didn't take this effect into account. Terrifying Nasa simulation lets you 'plunge' into black hole to 'point of no return' that would rip your body apart So the earlier estimation showed the lifetime of white dwarfs as 10 to the power of 1,100 years – or a one followed by 1,100 zeroes. That's far longer than the latest estimate, although both numbers are incomprehensibly large that it's unlikely to affect humans. "So the ultimate end of the universe comes much sooner than expected," said study lead author Heino Falcke. "But fortunately it still takes a very long time." 5 Scientists were able to calculate how long it would take a white dwarf to decay Credit: Getty HAWKING RADIATION Hawking radiation is named after famed English theoretical physicist and Cambridge professor Stephen Hawking. In the 1970s, Hawking suggested that "At the edge of a black hole, two temporary particles can form, and before they merge, one particle is sucked into the "One of the consequences of this so-called Hawking radiation is that a black hole very slowly decays into particles and radiation. 5 Cambridge scientist Stephen Hawking famously suggested that radiation could escape from a black hole Credit: Getty What is a black hole? The key facts Here's what you need to know... A black hole is a region of space where absolutely nothing can escape That's because they have extremely strong gravitational effects, which means once something goes into a black hole, it can't come back out They get their name because even light can't escape once it's been sucked in – which is why a black hole is dark What is an event horizon? The point at which you can no longer escape from a black hole's gravitational pull is called the event horizon The event horizon varies between different black holes, depending on their mass and size What is a singularity? The gravitational singularity is the very centre of a black hole It's a one-dimensional point that contains an incredibly large mass in an infinitely small space At the singularity, space-time curves infinitely, and the gravitational pull is infinitely strong Conventional laws of physics stop applying at this point How are black holes created? Most black holes are made when a supergiant star dies This happens when stars run out of fuel – like hydrogen – to burn, causing the star to collapse When this happens, gravity pulls the center of the star inwards quickly and collapses into a tiny ball Part of the star collapses inward thanks to gravity, and the rest of the star explodes outwards The remaining central ball is extremely dense, and if it's especially dense, you get a black hole 5 This image captured by the Event Horizon Telescope shows a black hole at the centre of galaxy M87 Credit: Getty "This contradicts Scientists working on this new study calculated that this "evaporation" process can also apply to other objects with a gravitational field – not just black holes. They also checked to see how long it would take And it turns out that it would take us 10 to the power of 90 years (or one with 90 zeroes) to disappear. But there are lots of other reasons why the Moon and humans won't make it anywhere close to that distant time.
Newsweek
12-05-2025
- Science
- Newsweek
End of the Universe Coming Sooner Than Thought, Scientists Reveal
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The end of everything is coming sooner than we thought—but don't worry, you've probably still got time to work through your bucket list. This is the conclusion of researchers from Radboud University in the Netherlands, who calculated how long it would take for the last remnants of the stars to decay into oblivion. The universe, they say, will go absolutely dark in 1078 years (that's a 1 with 78 zeros)—far sooner than the previous estimate of 101100 years (or 1 with 1100 zeros). The process behind this disintegration is related to so-called Hawking radiation, the theoretical process by which black holes are thought capable of evaporating to nothing. "By asking these kinds of questions and looking at extreme cases, we want to better understand the theory—and perhaps one day, we unravel the mystery of Hawking radiation," said paper author and mathematics professor Walter van Suijlekom. An artist's impression of a neutron star evaporating via Hawking-like radiation. An artist's impression of a neutron star evaporating via Hawking-like radiation. Daniëlle Futselaar/ In 1975, the British theoretical physicist professor Stephen Hawking argued that—despite their reputation for being inescapable—it is possible for material to leave a black hole. This process relies on a weird quantum phenomenon. Hawking proposed that pairs of subatomic particles and their antiparticle opposites are able to pop into existence as a result of fluctuations in the background "vacuum energy" of space. In almost all situations, these particles would annihilate and there would be no lasting effect. However, Hawking argued, when such pairs appear on the event horizon of a black hole, it would be possible for one with negative energy to fall in and the other to get away. To an observer, it would appear that the black hole was emitting radiation—and gradually losing mass and rotational energy in the process. Given this, black holes that aren't actively gobbling up material gradually shrink at a rate that is inversely proportional to its mass. The new paper builds on a 2023 study in which van Suijlekom and his colleagues—physicists Heino Falcke and Michael Wondrak—showed that all objects with a gravitational field should also be able to evaporate via a process similar to Hawking radiation. The team determined that the evaporation time of a given object is dependent only on its density—and were surprised to discover that the average neutron star and stellar black hole take about the same amount of time to decay: 1067 years. This was a surprise; black holes have a far stronger gravitational field, and so were expected to evaporate faster. However, Wondrak explains, "Black holes have no surface. They reabsorb some of their own radiation, which inhibits the process." Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about the end of everything? Let us know via science@ References Wondrak, M. F., van Suijlekom, W. D., & Falcke, H. (2023). Gravitational Pair Production and Black Hole Evaporation. Physical Review Letters, 130(22). Falcke, H., Wondrak, M. F., & van Suijlekom, W. D. (2025). An upper limit to the lifetime of stellar remnants from gravitational pair production. Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics.
