Does a black hole violate the Law of Conservation of Matter/Energy?
Asked by: Adam R. Scott
Answer
Neither the existence nor the behavior of black holes
violates conservation laws. All matter and energy falling
into a black hole increase its mass, with the energy
converted into mass via Einstein's E=mc2.
The eventual 'evaporation' of black holes via the
emission of so called Hawking radiation reverses the
process, changing mass into energy, but the
total mass and energy of the system is still conserved.
Answered by: Paul Walorski, B.A. Physics, Part-time Physics Instructor
'For the sake of persons of ... different types, scientific truth should be presented in different forms, and should be regarded as equally scientific, whether it appears in the robust form and the vivid coloring of a physical illustration, or in the tenuity and paleness of a symbolic expression.'