KOREAN NET

A global physics journal has published a study on black holes by students and teachers at Seoul Science High School. (World Scientific Connected's official website)

By Charles Audouin

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on June 23 said a paper from an in-school research project by students and teachers at Seoul Science High School has been published in the International Journal of Modern Physics D.

The study sheds new light on the relationship between the thermodynamics of black holes and gravitational field equations, which are considered long-standing conundrums in physics. A black hole, a region in spacetime where gravity is so strong that not even light can escape, is created when a massive star collapses at the end of its life.

While black holes following the laws of thermodynamics have been well known, scientists were unable to fully explain how these laws are derived from gravitational equations alone. Complex black holes that rotate or carry electric charges have two horizons inside and outside, something that limits the explanation of conventional theories. 

The research team was the first to verify the first law of thermodynamics, which states that energy is neither created nor destroyed, just transformed, in black holes by utilizing the concept of entropy instead of black hole volume. This showed the potential to expand the theory of emergent gravity, which interprets gravity as a thermodynamic phenomenon.

The paper is more impressive given that the school used only its in-house research system without support from universities or external research institutions.

"How surprising that high school students could conduct such elaborate and high-level research," the thesis review committee said. "This exemplary case was created by outstanding student talent and excellent guidance by supervisory teachers."

caudouin@korea.kr