Ask Space

ASTROPHYSICS

Are we finally getting a better understanding of black holes?

ugely so. Ten years ago, you could still make an argument that maybe black holes aren’t real – they’re just a figment of mathematics. But with LIGO [the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory], the collision of two black holes giving that first ripple in the fabric of space, and with the Event Horizon Telescope – even the Nobel Prize this year was awarded to work on black-hole physics – black holes have come into their own. For someone like me who works on cutting-edge theoretical ideas, we’re struggling now to merge black holes and quantum mechanics to get a full understanding. Black holes are the prime theoretical laboratory for pushing our ideas to the limit. When we can fully understand black holes and quantum mechanics, I suspect our understanding of the universe is going to jump