Different areas of physics seem to be incompatible inside black holes. When combining general relativity, thermodynamics and quantum mechanics, you get a paradox, which suggests that our knowledge of these areas is flawed. A solution, whatever it may be, would irreversibly shake up our understanding of the physical world. It may rewrite fundamental laws. It may unveil a new theory of quantum gravity.

In this episode I will unravel what ‘information’ means in physics and how it relates to unitarity. I’ll explain how black holes are formed and their key features, why Hawking radiation was proposed, and how Hawking radiation violates this unitarity. This should reveal what the black hole information paradox is.  Then in the next episode, we’ll examine potential solutions to the paradox.

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