"Sonic black holes" simulate the real thing, possible Hawking radiation confirmation

A fascinating attempt of simulating black holes in the laboratory has taken place. Using lasers and Bose-Einstein condensates, there may be some initial confirmation of Hawking radiation in the form of sonic energy. The mathematics of this laboratory system is equivalent to the math used in Einstein's field equations when working on stellar black holes. Any evidence of Hawking radiation, which is a prediction by Stephen Hawking over 40 years ago, could be the first direct evidence of the influence of quantum mechanics on black holes, where particles appear spontaneously at event horizons, with one going into the universe and the other into the black hole - the net effect makes it appear the black hole is evaporating.

Another test of Einstein's GR, and another confirmation

A good example of how science works - as a physicist, Albert Einstein has always been my, and just about all other physicists I know, hero as a scientist, but despite something personal like this, it is a necessary step in science to constantly test predictions, theories and ideas. Another precision test of general relativity, Einstein's masterpiece, has led to more confirmation of the theory. This is how it is supposed to work, even though there have been hundreds of tests of GR, all verifying the theory, but that doesn't mean we suddenly stop testing.