News Physics

Hawking proposes solution to black hole problem

Information about interior encoded by ‘supertranslation’ of light, physicist suggests

illustration of a ring of light around a black hole

RECORDED IN LIGHT  A ring of light surrounds the boundary of a black hole in this artist illustration. Stephen Hawking theorizes that light on this boundary encodes information about everything that falls into the black hole.

aaronrutten/istockphoto

By Andrew Grant

- More than 2 years ago

Light sliding along the outside of a black hole is the key to understanding what’s inside, Stephen Hawking says.