Black holes aren't totally black, and other insights from Stephen Hawking's groundbreaking work

Mathematical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking was best known for his work exploring the relationship between black holes and quantum physics. A black hole is the remnant of a dying supermassive star that's fallen into itself; these remnants contract to such a small size that gravity is so strong even light cannot escape from them. Black holes loom large in the popular imagination - schoolchildren ponder why the whole universe doesn't collapse into one. But Hawking's careful theoretical ...