The laws of quantum mechanics are pretty clear: information cannot be destroyed. But when Stephen Hawking showed that a black hole could evaporate into a spray of particles over time—the information that fell into it being lost forever—the subsequent paradox set many scientists on edge. With good reason, for a single inconsistency can unravel an entire mathematical model.

More videos from this series: A Thin Sheet of Reality

This program is part of The Big Idea Series, made possible with support from the John Templeton Foundation.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons; Recorded June 2011; Posted September 2011