LIGO Confirms Hawking’s Area Theorem

With far better sensitivity than a decade ago, LIGO can compare black hole properties before and after mergers and finds the total event‑horizon area never decreases, as Stephen Hawking predicted in 1971. The same data also verify that the remnant black holes behave like Kerr solutions—rotating, as predicted in 1963. Gravitational‑wave astronomy has matured into a precision test of fundamental physics. — Validating bedrock predictions of general relativity strengthens public and policymaker confidence in large scientific facilities and reframes gravitational‑wave observatories as core tools for basic discovery.