A research student at Princeton, Bekenstein suggested a black hole’s event horizon area was a measure of its entropy, or disorder. That, in turn, would mean that black holes must emit energy, though they previously weren’t thought to emit anything at all. Stephen Hawking disagreed with this theory and was annoyed when, by his own calculations, he realized it must be true (especially given that he had already published a paper about how the theory could not be true). Later, Hawking accepted Bekenstein’s theory, illustrating an example of the importance of humility.
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Jacob Bekenstein Character Timeline in A Brief History of Time
The timeline below shows where the character Jacob Bekenstein appears in A Brief History of Time. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 7
Jacob Bekenstein suggested a black hole’s entropy could be measured by its event horizon. As matter fell...
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...to emit anything. Hawking, Carter, and Jim Bardeen wrote a paper in 1972 to challenge Bekenstein’s finding. Hawking partially did so in irritation because he thought Bekenstein’s had misused his work....
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...he found even non rotating black holes ought to emit radiation. But, he didn’t want Bekenstein to find out.
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