--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have good reason to believe that space…" description: "\"“We have good reason to believe that space and time begin to merge into quantum mechanical uncertainty at distances this small; they must be treated qu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/415/henning-genz-4557_black-hole_we-have-good-reason-to-believe-that-spac_1652177.jpg" --- # We have good reason to believe that space and time begin… ![“We have good reason to believe that space and time begin to merge into quantum mechanical uncertainty at distances this small; they must be treated quantum mechanically from this scale downward. If the diameter of a black hole is well above the Planck length, we are justified in treating the…” quote by Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/415/henning-genz-4557_black-hole_we-have-good-reason-to-believe-that-spac_1652177.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/415/henning-genz-4557_black-hole_we-have-good-reason-to-believe-that-spac_1652177.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/415/henning-genz-4557_black-hole_we-have-good-reason-to-believe-that-spac_1652177.jpg) > ““We have good reason to believe that space and time begin to merge into quantum mechanical uncertainty at distances this small; they must be treated quantum mechanically from this scale downward. If the diameter of a black hole is well above the Planck length, we are justified in treating the particles that fluctuate about its Schwarzschild radius in terms of quantum mechanics while treating space, time, and gravitational field in the classical terms of general relativity. This is exactly what Hawking did, and his theory makes sense for black holes with diameters well above the Planck length. We will see what that means for the mass, temperature, lifetime, and thermal radiation of a black hole. But we don't know whether or not (and, if at all, how) it shrinks in size below this Planck length. In particular, we don't have any idea whether it will actually disappear in an explosion, leaving behind a flat, undistorted space, or will simply propagate through space as a mini-mini-black hole with a diameter of 10^-33 centimeters.”” [Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. At extremely tiny scales, quantum effects dominate, making classical physics insufficient; this uncertainty challenges our understanding of black holes and their ultimate fate. **In simple terms:** Quantum rules at tiny scales, classical rules fail. Key Takeaway Recognize limits of classical physics at Planck scale. Themes physics uncertainty black holes Mood curious speculative Type scientific technical When to use this quote - theoretical physics - astrophysics - educational lectures Key Concepts quantum mechanics general relativity Planck scale Questions to Reflect On - What experiments could probe sub‑Planck scales? - How does quantum uncertainty reshape black‑hole models? A Different Perspective The exact behavior of black holes below Planck length remains unknown. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black hole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-hole/) [Black holes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-holes/) [General relativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/general-relativity/) [Quantum mechanics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quantum-mechanics/) [Space and time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space-and-time/) [Space time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space-time/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“We don't really know whether there are black holes that emit observable amounts of Hawking radiation. 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Those maps will make it crystal clear whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-thorne/gravitational-waves-will-bring-us-exquisitely-accurate-maps-of-black/) [Kip Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-thorne/) > [General relativity predicts that time ends inside black holes because the gravitational collapse squeezes matter to infinite density.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/general-relativity-predicts-that-time-ends-inside-black-holes-because/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“This 'Planck length' is the only quantity with the dimensions of a length that can be built from the three mist fundamental constants of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/this-planck-length-is-the-only-quantity-with-the-dimensions-of-a/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [“Planck length and Planck time had always looked a bit too much like pixel dimensions for comfort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/planck-length-and-planck-time-had-always-looked-a-bit-too-much-like/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [“Even if we choose to use the nonstandard notion of distance and thereby describe the radius as being shorter than the Planck length, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/even-if-we-choose-to-use-the-nonstandard-notion-of-distance-and/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [ String theory?\[pause\] It closed the conceptual gulp between relativity and quantum mechanics. It postulates that subatomic particles are not points, but strings, about one… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-garson/string-theory-pause-it-closed-the-conceptual-gulp-between-relativity/) [Willie Garson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-garson/) > [“We know that the uncertainty relation implies not only the absence of empty space but also the nature of the minimal content of every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/we-know-that-the-uncertainty-relation-implies-not-only-the-absence-of/) [Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/) ## More by Henning Genz > [“Recall our discussion of the pendulum. Its position at a given instant does not fix its subsequent behavior. 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We know this is true;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/what-really-transcends-our-understanding-is-the-mechanism-that/) [Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/) > [“Chaotic or disordered distributions are symmetrical on the average. An observer cannot conclude anything about his location from looking around him. An example is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/chaotic-or-disordered-distributions-are-symmetrical-on-the-average-an/) [Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/) > [“The hotter a substance, the faster and the less ordered its molecular motion, and the larger the momentum with which molecules collide. Above 0…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/the-hotter-a-substance-the-faster-and-the-less-ordered-its-molecular/) [Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/) > [“This elementary process is symbolically illustrated in figure 59c: A photon becomes an electron-positron pair; inversely, an electron and a positron can combine into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/this-elementary-process-is-symbolically-illustrated-in-figure-59c-a/) [Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/) > [“John Maddox, the editor of the British journal Nature, had immediately suggested that the minister should be told that the Higgs boson can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/john-maddox-the-editor-of-the-british-journal-nature-had-immediately/) [Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/) > [“At first glance, it may appear odd that the black hole loses mass upon absorbing another mass-that of the electron. Actually, this seeming paradox…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/at-first-glance-it-may-appear-odd-that-the-black-hole-loses-mass-upon/) [Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/) > [“We can now infer that at this initial cooldown of the universe across the critical temperature of 10^15 degrees, a mini planetary system might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-genz/we-can-now-infer-that-at-this-initial-cooldown-of-the-universe-across/) [Henning Genz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/) [Explore all 109 Henning Genz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-genz/) ## More Black hole quotes > [“Our irises are galaxies; our pupils are black holes if we allow ourselves to bottle up everything inside us instead of allowing ourselves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaclyn-johnston/our-irises-are-galaxies-our-pupils-are-black-holes-if-we-allow/) Jaclyn Johnston > [I hate studios. A studio is a black hole. 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The first waves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/the-waves-travel-with-the-velocity-of-light-and-slightly-squeeze-and/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [“The bank man had been standing quietly by our picnic table, waiting to lock up the house. Around his waist he wore a live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-medford/the-bank-man-had-been-standing-quietly-by-our-picnic-table-waiting-to/) C.E. Medford > [If space is a fabric, then of course fabrics can have ripples, which we have now seen directly. But fabrics can also rip. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/if-space-is-a-fabric-then-of-course-fabrics-can-have-ripples-which-we/) [Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/) > [It's hard for me to speculate about what motivates somebody like Stephen Hawking or Elon Musk to talk so extensively about AI. 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They fill with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-kreitzer/struggling-transforms-her-captor-into-a-chinese-finger-trap-she-s/) [Laura Kreitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-kreitzer/) > [“Fear is the bane of all creatures and bubbles inside all forming a rock of solidifying darkness, sucking all will power to act or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-irini-poretsis/fear-is-the-bane-of-all-creatures-and-bubbles-inside-all-forming-a/) Isabella Irini Poretsis [Browse all 503 Black hole quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-hole/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We have good reason to believe that space and time begin to merge into quantum mechanical uncertainty at distances this small; they must be treated quantum mechanically from this scale downward. 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