SMRTR Science & EngineeringSep 10, 2025Scientific American

Best-Yet Measurement of Merging Black Holes Confirms Einstein, Hawking and the ‘No Hair’ Theorem

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LIGO scientists detected the most precise gravitational waves ever, confirming Stephen Hawking's area theorem and the "no-hair" theorem when two massive black holes merged 1.3 billion light-years away. The measurements showed the final black hole's surface area (400,000 sq km) exceeded the combined area of the original black holes (240,000 sq km), proving black holes are simple objects defined only by mass and spin, exactly as Einstein's relativity predicted.

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