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The Question

(Submitted January 29, 1997)

Are there any sub-atomic particles that are able to escape a hole's event horizon?

The Answer

No. It is believed that once a particle is inside the event horizon, it can never escape, regardless of what kind it is. There is a phenomenon predicted by Dr. Hawking where energetic particles are emitted from just outside the event horizon (see Hawking radiation in the Imagine the Universe! dictionary), but even then the particles are not coming from inside the event horizon.

Best wishes,
Koji Mukai

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Imagine the Universe is a service of the High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC), Dr. Nicholas White (Director), within the Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

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