CLASSROOM

Praveen Pathak 1
Exploring Black Hole Physics via Dimensional Analysis Vinay Uppal2 and
Vijay A. Singh1
1
Homi Bhabha Centre For Sci-
D im e n sio n a l a n a ly sis is a p o w e rfu l in stru m e n t in ence Education (TIFR),
th e p h y sic ist's a r se n a l. It n o t o n ly h e lp s to ch e ck V. N. Purav Marg, Mankhurd,
Mumbai 400 088, India.
e q u a tio n s, b u t c a n a lso b e u se d to d e riv e im p o r- 2
Physics Department
ta n t o n e s. W e illu str a te th is b y d e riv in g so m e Indian Institute of Technology
im p o rta n t e x p r e ssio n s in b la c k h o le p h y sic s. Bombay, Mumbai 400 076
S ta rtin g w ith a sim p le in p u t, n a m e ly th a t th e India.
p r o p e r tie s o f a n u n c h a rg e d , n o n -ro ta tin g b la ck
h o le d e p e n d o n ly o n th e m a ss (th e `n o h a ir th e -
o re m ') w e e m p lo y d im e n sio n a l a n a ly sis to d e riv e
e x p r e ssio n s fo r th e a re a o f th e e v e n t h o r iz o n , th e
e n tr o p y , th e e v a p o r a tio n tim e a n d th e H a w k in g
te m p e r a tu r e , a m o n g o th e r s. O u r d e riv a tio n s a re
a c c e ssib le to p r e -c o lle g e stu d e n ts , b u t its e x o tic
im p lic a tio n s m a y le a v e th e m p o n d e rin g fo r a v e ry
lo n g tim e .
1 . In tr o d u c tio n
E v ery b eg in n in g stu d en t in p h y sics is en jo in ed to em -
p loy d im en sio n a l a n a ly sis. D im en sio n a l a n a ly sis is b a si-
ca lly a tech n iq u e to stu d y th e in terrela tio n sh ip b etw een
a p h y sica l q u a n tity a n d o th er va ria b les. T h e p h y sica l
q u a n tity to b e stu d ied is ex p ressed in term s o f a fu n d a -
m en ta l set o f d im en sio n s u su a lly ta k en to b e m a ss (M ),
len g th (L ), tim e (T ), tem p era tu re (K ), etc. H ow ev er
th ese b a se d im en sio n s f M ; L ; T ; K g a re n o t sa cro -
sa n ct. F o r m ech a n ica l q u a n tities th e b a se d im en sio n s
co u ld b e f F ; L ; T g o r ev en f ½ ; L ; T g , w h ere F is
th e fo rce a n d ½ is th e m a ss d en sity. T h e ex isten ce o f
eq u iva len t, irred u cin g b a se q u a n tities h a s b een k n ow n
fo r lo n g a n d is co d i¯ ed in a fa m o u s th eo rem ca lled th e
Keywords.
B u ck in g h a m ¦ [1 ]. F u rth er o n e co u ld u se a n o th er set, Dimensional analysis, black
fo r ex a m p le th e cla ssica l a n d q u a n tu m m ech a n ica l co n - hole, entropy, event horizon,
sta n ts in p h y sics. T h ese cla ssica l co n sta n ts co u ld b e th e Bekenstein conjecture, Hawk-
g rav ita tio n a l co n sta n t (G ), th e sp eed o f lig h t (c), a n d ing radiation.

th e B o ltzm a n n co n sta n t (k B ). O n th e o th er h a n d B o h r

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Table 1. Dimensions and

numerical values in SI sys-
C o n sta n ts D im e n sio n s
tem of some of the classi-
cal and quantum funda- h M L 2 T ¡1
mental constants. kB M L 2 T ¡ 2 µ ¡1
c L T ¡1
G M ¡ 1 L 3 T ¡2
N u m e ric a l V a lu e
6 :6 3 £ 1 0 ¡3 4 J -s
1 .3 8 £ 1 0 ¡ 2 3 J -K ¡ 1
3 .0 0 £ 1 0 8 m -s¡ 1
6 .6 7 £ 1 0 ¡ 1 1 m 3 -k g ¡1 -s¡2

m a g n eto n (¹ B ) a n d P la n ck 's co n sta n t (h ) a re q u a n tu m

m ech a n ica l co n sta n ts. T h e b a se d im en sio n s a n d n u m er-
ica l va lu es o f th ese co n sta n ts are listed in T able 1 .
L et u s ta k e a n ex a m p le. F o r a b la ck b o d y th e en erg y
ra d ia ted p er u n it tim e is g iv en b y S tefa n { B o ltzm a n n 's
law a s
Q = ¾ A T 4:
H ere T is th e tem p era tu re o f b la ck b o d y, A is its su r-
fa ce a rea , a n d ¾ is th e S tefa n { B o ltzm a n n co n sta n t (¾ =
5 :6 7 £ 1 0 ¡8 J -s¡1 -m ¡2 -K ¡ 4 ). H en ce ¾ h a s th e d im en -
sio n s o f en erg y p er u n it a rea p er u n it tim e p er fo u rth
p ow er o f tem p era tu re. It ca n b e w ritten in term s o f
b a sic d im en sio n s a s
¡3 ¡4
[¾ ] = M T K (1 )

N o te th a t sy m b o l [ ] rep resen ts d im en sio n s. H ow ev er ¾

ca n a lso b e ex p ressed in term s o f fu n d a m en ta l co n sta n ts
as
[¾ ] = [G ]x [c]y [h ]z [k B ]w
T o o b ta in th e va lu es o f x ; y ; z a n d w , w e p u t d im en sio n s
o f G ; c; h ; a n d k B fro m T able I o n th e rig h t h a n d sid e
a n d eq u a te it to th e left h a n d sid e d im en sio n s o f ¾ fro m
(1 ). T h is y ield s
kB 4
[¾ ] = 2 3 : (2 )
c h
T h ere a re tw o th in g s w e sh o u ld n o te a b o u t th is. F irst,
th e a p p ea ra n ce o f h in d ica tes th e q u a n tu m n a tu re o f
S tefa n { B o ltzm a n n co n sta n t. T h is is to b e ex p ected sin ce

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S tefa n 's law ca n b e d eriv ed fro m th e m o re b a sic P la n ck A black hole is a

ra d ia tio n law . S eco n d , th e n u m erica l va lu e o f rig h t h a n d
superdense object
sid e (1 .3 8 £ 1 0 ¡ 9 ) is d i® eren t fro m o b serv ed va lu e. T h e
which may be
in clu sio n o f a d im en sio n less co n sta n t ca n ¯ x th is d is-
formed by the
crep a n cy.
collapse of a
O n e m u st n o te th a t d im en sio n a l a n a ly sis h a s p rov ed to massive star. In the
b e a p ow erfu l to o l in m a n y situ a tio n s w h ere a th eo retica l process its
d eriva tio n a n d ex p la n a tio n is d i± cu lt o r o ften im p o ssi- gravitational field
b le. L et u s say y o u m ay w a n t to d eterm in e th e tim e becomes so intense
p erio d o f a sim p le p en d u lu m . Y o u w ill d o m a n y ex - that its escape
p erim en ts ch a n g in g th e tw o va ria b les: l, len g th o f th e velocity exceeds the
p en d u lu m a n d m , m a ss o f th e p en d u lu m . Y o u m ay a lso speed of light.
rea lize th a t g rav ity w ill p lay a ro le a n d h en ce y o u w ill
in clu d e a ccelera tio n d u e to g rav ity g ([g ] = L T ¡2 ). T h u s
y o u m ay ex p ress tim e p erio d tp a s
[tp ] = m x ly g z :
A n elem en ta ry a n a ly sis y ield s x = 0 ; y = ¡ z = 1 = 2 .
T hus s
l
tp = a ;
g
w h ere a is a d im en sio n less co n sta n t w h ich ca n b e triv -
ia lly ¯ x ed to b e 6 .2 8 (¼ 2 ¼ ) b y ex a m in in g th e d a ta . N o te
th a t m a ss is a n irreleva n t va ria b le a n d th is fa ct co m es
o u t n a tu ra lly in th e d im en sio n a l a n a ly sis. A d m itted ly
w e h av e ta k en a sim p le ex a m p le. In w h a t fo llow s w e
w ill d em o n stra te th e p ow er o f d im en sio n a l a n a ly sis to 1
Black hole was one of the
ex p lo re th e p h y sics o f b la ck h ole 1 . themes in the International Phys-
ics Olympiad 2007. The Olym-
2 . B la c k H o le P h y sic s piad was held in Isfahan, Iran
from July 13–22, 2007.This was
A b la ck h o le is a su p erd en se o b ject w h ich m ay b e fo rm ed our tenth participation in this
b y th e co lla p se o f a m a ssiv e star. In th e p ro cess its g ra v i- prestigious event. A total of
sixty-nine nations participated.
ta tio n a l ¯ eld b eco m es so in ten se th a t its esca p e v elo city
Our performance was a suc-
ex ceed s th e sp eed o f lig h t. F u rth er, its in ten se g rav - cess and we secured medals
ity su ck s in n ea rb y m a tter. B eca u se o f th is n o o b ject, which included Two Gold, Two
n o t ev en electro m a g n etic ra d ia tio n , ca n esca p e fro m it. Silver and One Honorable
H en ce th e n a m e `B la ck H o le'. Mention.

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Every black hole is

L et u s ta k e th e ex a m p le o f o u r S u n . F ro m en erg y co n -
serva tio n o n e ca n ea sily sh ow th a t esca p e v elo city fro m
surrounded by an
th e su rfa ce o f S u n is g iv en b y
‘event horizon’.
Roughly speaking
r
2G M
event horizon is the v e sc = :
R
boundary of the black
hole. Light emitted H ere R is th e ra d iu s a n d M is th e m a ss o f th e S u n . If
from within the event th e S u n w ith its p resen t m a ss (2 £ 1 0 3 0 k g ) b eco m es a
horizon can never b la ck h o le i.e., v es c = c, th en a sim p le ca lcu la tio n sh ow s
reach an outside th a t its ra d iu s w o u ld b e 3 k m w h erea s its cu rren t ra d iu s
observer. is a b o u t 7 £ 1 0 5 k m ! It is b eliev ed th a t a g a la x y h a s a
b la ck h o le a t its cen ter.
E v ery b la ck h o le is su rro u n d ed b y a n `ev en t h o rizo n '.
R o u g h ly sp ea k in g ev en t h o rizo n is th e b o u n d a ry o f th e
b la ck h o le. L ig h t em itted fro m w ith in th e ev en t h o rizo n
ca n n ev er rea ch a n o u tsid e o b serv er. F u rth er, a n y th in g
th a t p a sses fro m th e ex tern a l o b serv er's sid e th ro u g h th e
ev en t h o rizo n ca n n o t b e retriev ed .
T h ere is a n im p o rta n t th eo rem in b la ck h o le p h y sics
ca lled `n o h a ir th eo rem '. T h e n o h a ir th eo rem , m o re a c-
cu ra tely n o h a ir co n jectu re, im p lies th a t a n u n ch a rg ed ,
n o n -ro ta tin g b la ck h o le is com pletely characterized by
it's m ass. C o n sid er tw o b la ck h o les h a v in g th e sa m e
m a ss. O n e is co m p o sed o f m a tter: say p ro to n , n eu tro n ,
a n d electro n . T h e o th er o f a n tim a tter: say a n tip ro to n ,
a n tin eu tro n , a n d p o sitro n . T o a n o b serv er o u tsid e th e
ev en t h o rizo n th ese tw o w o u ld b e co m p letely in d istin -
g u ish a b le. In th e w o rd s o f th e p h y sicist J o h n W h eeler:
\ B la ck h o les h av e n o h a ir." W e w ill u se th is th eo rem
ju d icio u sly a lo n g w ith d im en sio n a l a n a ly sis to u n rav el
th e p h y sics o f b la ck h o les. In w h a t fo llow s w e w ill adopt
a qu estion an d an sw er form at.
1 . L et A b e th e a rea o f a n ev en t h o rizo n . U sin g d im en -
sio n a l a n a ly sis, ex p ress A in term s o f co n sta n ts G , c a n d
th e m a ss m o f th e b la ck h o le.

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S o lu tio n : W e w rite
In 1971, using
[A ] = [G ]x [c]y [m ]z : classical general
relativity, Hawking
A rea A h a s d im en sio n s o f L 2 . F ro m T able I w e p u t th e
proved that the total
d im en sio n s o f G a n d c in th e a b ov e eq u a tio n . E q u a tin g
area of the event
th e o rd er o f b a se d im en sio n s M ; L , a n d T w e o b ta in
horizons of two
¡ x + z = 0; collapsing black
3x + y = 2; holes is greater than
¡ 2x ¡ y = 0: the sum of the
individual ones.
S o lv in g th e eq u a tio n y ield s x = z = 2 a n d y = ¡ 4 .
H en ce
A = G 2 c4 m 2 : (3 )

In w h a t fo llow s w e a ssu m e th a t th e su rfa ce a rea o f a

b la ck h o le is th e sa m e a s th e a rea o f its ev en t h o rizo n
(A ).
In 1 9 7 1 , u sin g cla ssica l g en era l rela tiv ity, H aw k in g p rov ed
th a t th e to ta l a rea o f th e ev en t h o rizo n s o f tw o co lla p sin g
b la ck h o les is g rea ter th a n th e su m o f th e in d iv id u a l o n es
[2 ]. In o th er w o rd s a rea A o f a n y b la ck h o le ca n n ev er
d ecrea se in a n y p ro cess (¢ A ¸ 0 ). T h is sta tem en t is
a n a lo g o u s to th e seco n d law o f th erm o d y n a m ics, w h ere
w e say th a t th e to ta l en tro p y o f a clo sed sy stem n ev er
d ecrea ses in a n y p ro cess. B ek en stein u sed th is a n a lo g y
to d e¯ n e th e en tro p y o f a b la ck h o le [3 ]. If a p a rticle g o es
in to a b la ck h o le, it d isa p p ea rs. In fo rm a tio n is lo st d u r-
in g th e p ro cess. F o r ex a m p le, w e d o n o t h av e a n y id ea
a b o u t th e sta tu s o f th e p a rticle o n ce it d isa p p ea rs. B u t
a cco rd in g to H aw k in g th ere is a lw ay s a n in crea se in th e
b la ck h o le's a rea w h ich resu lts fro m th e d isa p p ea ra n ce
o f th e p a rticle. T h e lo st in fo rm a tio n is in fa ct rela ted
to th e su rfa ce a rea . D isa p p ea ra n ce o f th e p a rticle in to
th e b la ck h o le in va ria b ly resu lts in a n in crea se in th e
la tter's a rea . H en ce B ek en stein a rg u ed th a t th e en tro p y
o f a b la ck h o le is p ro p o rtio n a l to its su rfa ce a rea . T h u s
S = ´A : (4 )

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H ere ´ is a co n sta n t.
2 . U sin g b a sic d im en sio n s o f en tro p y, ex p ress ´ in term s
o f fu n d a m en ta l co n sta n ts h ; c; G ; a n d k B .
S o lu tio n : W e k n ow th a t en tro p y is
dQ
dS = ; (5 )
µ
w h ere d Q is th e h ea t ex ch a n g ed d u rin g th e p ro cess a n d
µ is th e a b so lu te tem p era tu re o f th e sy stem . E q u a -
tio n (5 ) g iv es th e d im en sio n s o f en tro p y to b e [S ] =
M L 2 T ¡2 K ¡1 . W e h av e

´ = S =A
an d [´ ] = [S ][A ]¡ 1 = M T ¡2
K ¡1
: (6 )

T o ex p ress ´ in term s o f fu n d a m en ta l co n sta n ts w e w rite

[´ ] = [G ]x [h ]y [c]z [k B ]w =
¡x + y + w 3x + 2y+ z+ 2w ¡ 2 x ¡ y ¡ z ¡2 w ¡w
M L T K : (7 )
E q u a tin g (6 ) a n d (7 ) y ield s

¡x + y+ w = 1;
3x + 2y + z + 2w = 0;
¡ 2x ¡ y ¡ z ¡ 2w = ¡ 2;
w = 1;
w h ich g iv es x = y = ¡ w = ¡ 1 ; z = 3:

T hus
c3 k B
´ = : (8 )
G h
U sin g (3 ) a n d (8 )
G kB 2
S = m : (9 )
ch
N o te th a t eq u a tio n (9 ) is sim ila r to th e en tro p y { a rea re-
la tio n o b ta in ed b y B ek en stein [3 ] ex cep t fo r a n u m erica l

480 RESONANCE  May 2008

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fa cto r (ln 2 )= 4 . L a ter H aw k in g sh ow ed th a t S = A = 4 if The inclusion of

w e set fu n d a m en ta l co n sta n ts to u n ity. T h e fa ct th a t entropy in black
th e ex p ressio n fo r S co n ta in s a n h sh o u ld n o t su rp rise hole physics
u s b eca u se it a p p ea rs in th e fo rm u la e fo r en tro p y o f indicates that the
m a n y th erm o d y n a m ic sy stem s th a t a re co n v en tio n a lly
black hole cannot
reg a rd ed a s cla ssica l, fo r ex a m p le, th e B o ltzm a n n id ea l
be at zero
g a s.
temperature.
It w a s b eliev ed th a t sin ce a b la ck h o le a b so rb s a ll th e ra -
d ia tio n fa llin g o n it, it sh o u ld b e a t tem p era tu re 0 K . O r
in o th er w o rd s it ca n n o t em it ra d ia tio n . B u t th e in clu -
sio n o f en tro p y in b la ck h o le p h y sics in d ica tes th a t th e
b la ck h o le ca n n o t b e a t zero tem p era tu re. U sin g q u a n -
tu m m ech a n ics H aw k in g sh ow ed th a t \ b la ck h o les a re
n o t q u ite b la ck " [4 ] o r in o th er w o rd s b la ck h o les em it
p a rticle a n d ra d ia tio n . T h e ra d ia tio n is th erm a l ra d ia -
tio n sim ila r to b la ck -b o d y ra d ia tio n [5 ]. T h e tem p era -
tu re co rresp o n d in g to th e ra d ia tio n is ca lled th e H aw k -
in g tem p era tu re (µ H ).
3 . U se rela tio n E = m c 2 to d e¯ n e th e en erg y o f a b la ck
h o le in term s o f m a ss. A n a lo g o u s to th e law s o f th erm o -
d y n a m ics u se en tro p y rela tio n (9 ) to ex p ress th e H aw k -
in g tem p era tu re µ H in term s o f m a ss a n d o th er fu n d a -
m en ta l co n sta n ts. A ssu m e th a t th e b la ck h o le d o es n o
w o rk o n th e su rro u n d in g s.
S o lu tio n : F ro m th e ¯ rst law o f th erm o d y n a m ics
dE = dQ + dW :

A lso d S = d Q = µ H . S ettin g th e `w o rk term s' d W to zero

[4 ] a n d eq u a tin g th e a b ov e eq u a tio n s
d E = µH d S : (1 0 )

F ro m E = m c 2 ; d E = c 2 d m . 2
Since dQ = 0, the use of
E q u a tio n (9 ) g iv es2
ordinary derivative in place of
dS 2G kB partial derivative is permissible.
= m :
dm ch

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H en ce (1 0 ) ta k es th e fo rm
An isolated black
hole slowly loses
its mass due to µ ¶¡1 µ ¶¡ 1
dE dS 2 dS c3 h 1
Hawking radiation. µH = = = c = : (1 1 )
dS dE dm 2G kB m
T h e a b ov e ex p ressio n is sim ilar to th e o n e o b ta in ed b y
H aw k in g [4 ]. (S ee a n o th er d erv ia tio n o f th e b la ck h o le
tem p era tu re in `S n ip p ets o f P h y sics' in th is issu e o n p a g e
4 1 2 .)
4 . It is clea r fro m th e p rev io u s d iscu ssio n th a t th e m a ss
o f a n iso la ted b la ck h o le w ill d ecrea se d u e to H aw k in g
ra d ia tio n . F in d th e ra te o f ch an g e o f m a ss u sin g S tefa n {
B o ltzm a n n 's law . A lso ¯ n d th e tim e t¤ th a t a b la ck h o le
o f m a ss m ta k es to eva p o ra te co m p letely.
S o lu tio n : F ro m S tefa n { B o ltzm a n n 's law
dE
= ¡ ¾ µH 4A ; (1 2 )
dt
d m
c2 = ¡ ¾ µH 4 A : (1 3 )
dt
P u ttin g th e ex p ressio n s fo r ¾ ; A ; a n d µ H fro m (2 ), (3 ),
a n d (1 1 ), w e g et

dm 1 c4 h 1
= ¡ : (1 4 )
dt 16 G 2 m 2

In teg ra tin g th e a b ov e eq u a tio n

Z0 Z t¤ 4
2 c h
m dm = ¡ d t;
m 0 16G 2
1 6G 2 3
t¤ = m : (1 5 )
3 c4 h

5 . W e ex p ect th e b la ck h o le to b e ex p o sed to th e co sm ic
b a ck g ro u n d ra d ia tio n . A ssu m e th a t th is b a ck g ro u n d ra -
d ia tio n is a b la ck -b o d y ra d ia tio n w ith a tem p era tu re

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µ B a n d it ¯ lls th e en tire u n iv erse. T h u s a b la ck h o le

A black hole loses
lo ses en erg y th ro u g h H aw k in g ra d ia tio n a n d g a in s en -
energy through
erg y fro m th e co sm ic b a ck g ro u n d . F in d th e m a ss (m ¤)
Hawking radiation
in term s o f µ B a n d fu n d a m en ta l co n sta n ts a t w h ich th is
and gains energy
en erg y ex ch a n g e rea ch es eq u ilib riu m .
from the cosmic
S o lu tio n : E n erg y p er u n it tim e receiv ed b y a b la ck h o le background.
is g iv en b y
dE dm
= c2 = ¾ (µ B 4 ¡ µ H 4 )A : (1 6 )
dt dt
E m p loy in g ex p ressio n s fro m (2 ), (3 ) a n d (1 1 ),
" µ 3 ¶4 # 2
4
d m k B c h 1 G
c2 = 2 3
µB 4 ¡ m 2;
dt c h 2G kB m c4
dm G 2m 2 4 h c4
= (k B µ B ) ¡ :
dt c8 h 3 16G 2 m 2

A t eq u ilib riu m ,
¯
dm ¯¯ = 0;
d t ¯m = m ¤

w h ich y ield s
¤ c3 h 1
m = :
2G k B µB

6 . A rg u e m a th em a tica lly if th is eq u ilib riu m is sta b le?

S o lu tio n : A t th erm a l eq u ilib riu m
1
µ H = µ B = c3 h 2 G k B ¤
= µ¤
m

F ro m (1 6 ) a n d (1 1 )
dm
If µ ¤ > µ H ) m ¤
< m ; th en
> 0;
dt
dm
If µ ¤ < µ H ) m ¤ > m ; th en < 0:
dt

RESONANCE  May 2008 483

 CLASSROOM

H en ce th e eq u ilib riu m is u n sta b le.

Table 2. Values of some of
the characteristic proper-
ties of black holes calcu-
lated using solar mass
MM J = 1.98 1030 kg. The
change in entropy is cal-
culated for a change in
J J
mass MM to 1.1 MM .
3 . E x o tic P h y sic s
T h ere a re sev era l a sp ects a b o u t th e p reced in g ex ercises
th a t a re w o rth p o n d erin g ov er. T h e fa ct th a t th e P la n ck
co n sta n t is a sso cia ted w ith th e d im en sio n s o f th e S tefa n {
B o ltzm a n n co n sta n t ¾ (2 ) a n d th e en tro p y (8 ) h a s b een
co m m en ted u p o n . T able 2 lists so m e o f th e va lu es o f
b la ck h o le p ro p erties b a sed o n th e d im en sio n a l a n a ly sis
ca rried o u t in th e p resen t a rticle. W e h av e ta k en th e
va lu e o f th e d im en sio n less co n sta n ts to b e u n ity a n d th e
m a ss o f th e b la ck h o le to b e th e so la r m a ss. W e ¯ n d
th a t w h en th e m a ss o f th e b la ck h o le ch a n g es fro m M J
to 1 :1 M J (M J sta n d s fo r so la r m a ss), th e co rresp o n d -
in g ch a n g e in en tro p y is ¼ 1 0 5 1 J -K ¡ 1 . In co n tra st, fo r
a sim ila r p ro cess, th e ch a n g e in en tro p y fo r th e S u n is
¼ 1 0 3 3 J -K ¡ 1 . T h is en tro p y is ca lcu la ted a ssu m in g th a t
th e tem p era tu re o f th e S u n is 6 2 7 3 K , its ra d iu s is 6 .9 5
£ 1 0 5 k m a n d it co n sists o f 9 2 % o f h y d ro g en . T h e p h e-
n o m en a lly h ig h va lu e o f th e en tro p y is in d ica tiv e o f th e
h ig h ly irrev ersib le ch a ra cter o f b la ck h o le fo rm a tio n [3 ].
T h e H aw k in g tem p era tu re is low (1 0 ¡6 K ), b u t n o t zero .
N o te th a t w e h av e u sed B ek en stein co n jectu re w h ich re-
la tes en tro p y to a rea (4 ). It m ay in terest th e rea d er to
n o te th a t th e rela tio n sh ip b etw een p erim eter a n d en -
tro p y w a s em p loy ed b y R u d o lf P eierls to d em o n stra te
th e ex isten ce o f p h a se tra n sitio n in th e tw o -d im en sio n a l
Isin g m o d el. It g o es b y th e n a m e o f th e `P eierls' a rg u -
m en t [6 ]. N o te th a t th e p erim eter is th e a n a lo g u e o f
a rea in tw o d im en sio n s.

A rea o f ev en t h o rizo n (A ) G 2 m 2 = c4 E q. (3 ) 2 .1 7 £ 106 m 2

´ c3 k B = G h E q. (8 ) 8 .4 3 £ 1 0 4 5 J K ¡1 m ¡2

C h a n g e in E n tro p y (¢ S ) G k B m 2 = ch E q. (9 ) 3 .8 4 £ 1 0 5 1 J -K ¡ 1
H aw k in g tem p era tu re (µ H ) c3 h = 2 G k B m E q. (1 1 ) 4 .8 3 £ 1 0 ¡6 K
T im e to eva p o ra te (t¤) 1 6 G 2 m 3 = 3 c4 h E q. (1 5 ) 1 .1 0 £ 1 0 6 3 y ea rs

484 RESONANCE  May 2008

 CLASSROOM

T h e m a ss d ep en d en ce o f so m e o f th e p h y sica l q u a n tities
a p p ea rs a n o m a lo u s. F o r d e¯ n iten ess th in k o f a cu b e o f
co n sta n t d en sity. Its v o lu m e is L 3 , w h ere L is its len g th .
T h u s its m a ss sca les a s L 3 . Its su rfa ce a rea is 6 L 2 . H en ce
its a rea sh o u ld sca le a s m 2 = 3 . H ow ev er th e a rea o f th e
b la ck h o le ev en t h o rizo n sca les a s m 2 . W e h av e seen a
su g a r cu b e d isso lv in g in w a ter. T h is p ro cess d ep en d s o n
its a rea . W e ca n d escrib e th is p ro cess b y a n eq u a tio n
a n a lo g o u s to (1 4 ), n a m ely
dm 2=3
= ¡ a1m ; (1 7 )
dt
w h ere a 1 is a co n sta n t. In teg ra tin g th is eq u a tio n w o u ld
y ield th e d isso lu tio n tim e t¤ » m 2 = 3 in m a rk ed co n tra st
to th e eva p o ra tio n tim e sca lin g law t¤ » m 3 (1 5 ).
L et u s ex a m in e th e ex p ressio n fo r th e b la ck h o le en tro p y
(9 ). W e ¯ n d th a t S » m 2 . H ow ev er th e a sso cia ted
H aw k in g tem p era tu re µ H » 1 = m (1 1 ). If th e b la ck h o le
m a ss is la rg e, its tem p era tu re is sm a ll, a n d its en tro p y is
la rg e. T h is is u n d en ia b ly n o n -in tu itiv e. R eca ll th a t th e
th ird law o f th erm o d y n a m ics lea d s u s to b eliev e th a t a s
th e tem p era tu re a p p ro a ch es zero , so d o es th e en tro p y.
O n e co u ld g o fu rth er. T h e sp eci¯ c h ea t is n eg a tiv e.
dE
C V = ;
d£
2G kB 2
= ¡ m ;
ch
w h ere w e h av e u sed E = m c 2 a n d eq u a tio n (1 1 ). O n ce
a g a in a s m ! 0 , £ H ! 1 a n d C V ! 0 , co n tra ry
to o u r ex p ecta tio n s b a sed o n cla ssica l th erm o d y n a m ics.
A stro n o m ica l sy stem s d isp la y n eg a tiv e sp eci¯ c h ea t a n d
th ere h av e b een a ttem p ts to reso lv e th is p a ra d ox [7 ]. A
d iscu ssio n o f th is p a ra d ox w o u ld fo rm a n o th er a rticle b y
itself.
B la ck h o le p h y sics is ex o tic. If b y ta k in g reco u rse to
sim p le d im en sio n a l a n a ly sis w e h av e b een a b le to crea te

RESONANCE  May 2008 485

 CLASSROOM

a sen se o f w o n d er a n d m y stery a b o u t it, th en o u r la b o u r

h a s b een w ell w o rth it.
A c k n o w le d g m e n t
T h is w o rk w a s su p p o rted b y th e N a tio n a l In itia tiv e o n
U n d erg ra d u a te S cien ce p ro g ra m m e u n d erta k en b y th e
H o m i B h a b h a C en tre fo r S cien ce E d u ca tio n { T a ta In sti-
tu te fo r F u n d a m en ta l R esea rch (H B C S E -T IF R ), M u m -
b a i, In d ia . W e a re a lso th a n k fu l to D r. S a n d ip T riv ed i
(T IF R , M u m b a i) a n d D r. B ik ra m P h o o k u n (S t. S te-
p h en 's C o lleg e, N ew D elh i) fo r u sefu l d iscu ssio n s a n d
su g g estio n s.

Suggested Reading

[1] E Buckingham, On physically similar systems; illustrations of the

use of dimensional equations, Phys. Rev., Vol.4, pp.345–376, 1914.
[2] Stephen Hawking, Gravitational radiation from colliding black holes,
Phys. Rev. Lett., Vol.26, pp.1344–1346, 1971.
[3] Jacob Bekenstein, Black holes and entropy, Phys. Rev. D, Vol.7,
pp.2333–2346, 1973.
[4] Stephen Hawking, Particle creation by black holes, Commun. Math.
Phys., Vol.43, pp.199–220, 1975.
[5] G S Ranganath, Black-body Radiation, Resonance, Vol.13, No.2, 2008.
[6] R E Peierls, On Ising Model of Ferromagnetism, Proceedings of the
Cambridge Philosophical Society, Vol.32, p.477, 1936.
[7] W Thirring, Systems with negative specific heat, Z. Phys., Vol.235,
pp.339–352, 1970.

486 RESONANCE  May 2008