Gravitational waves confirm a black hole law predicted by Stephen Hawking

The “area law” says that a black hole’s surface area cannot decrease over time

simulation of gravitational waves from two merging black holes

Gravitational waves from two merging black holes (shown in a simulation), spotted in 2015, revealed that the total surface area of the black holes doesn’t decrease when they merge.

Simulating Extreme Spacetimes project

Despite their mysterious nature, black holes are thought to follow certain simple rules.