"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.