according to hawking (to many others as well) virtual particles may get real at an event horizon. hawking says that black holes have a certain temperature.
when a positron falls into the black hole and its electron partner is released and can be observed. but as far as i know an electron is not exactly a photon. if an object has a temperature it emits a characteristic spectrum of em-radiation right? in harrison`s "cosmology" i read that many photons are produced when a virtual particle gets real and thats what we actually see.
whats right now. are just massive elementary particles produced and the temperature is calculated by converting mass into energy or are photons actually a result of turning virtual particles into real ones?

• RE: how is radiation produced at the event horizon? - atomic death - August 1, 2000 - 16:41 UTC