Sunya Bhutta

Black holes have been a big problem in physics. For decades, scientists have been mystified about what happens to stuff that falls into a black hole. The quandary is called the black hole information paradox, and it has stopped physics in its tracks. But in recent years, scientists have made a breakthrough that may finally solve the puzzle and begin to show how black holes really work. To understand the paradox, we have to go back to Stephen Hawking’s big idea—all the way back to 1974.