: According to Stephen Hawking, if two particles directly on the event horizon collide and one of the particles is bounced away, it can escape. : Source: http://library.advanced.org/10148/long13.html

: Anyway, I'm wondering how these two particles can be created out of nothing?

: One more question: : It is theorized that if enough energy escapes, the mass of the black hole will become small enough that the black hole will not be able to completely curve the space around it and it will explode with a power greater than millions of atomic bombs. How can a black hole explode?

First of all, matter is not created out of nothing, there is something there reacting, it my be so minute or small as not to be visable with our extended sensors, but it is there nonetheless. Second, curving space is not really what is happening, it is more acurate to say that the gravitational strength/reach extends to a certain point, this is the event horizon? Now, as the density increases within the black hole (contained matter) the strength/reach of its gracitational pull/force increases thereby possibly gaining more matter from longer distances, so they grow although supposedly they get smaller in circumferance. The pressure of course is immense on the matter within the BH and in my opinion would go through phases/cycles such as plasma/energy, remember that energy is different than how physical matter changes through its phases, energy does not have the same kind of density laws, meaning it is not dependent on the concentration to pass through phases, temperature I am not sure about, at any rate, the matter gets to a point where it transforms into energy which actually increases its gravitational effect. As far as explosions, there is possibaly a point at which the energy overcomes its own withholding force, but I don't see how? Black holes eventually take in all matter around it and when there is no more to assimilate, they begin to attract eachother, so when over large amounts of time/distance they reach possiably light speed because they are energy and collide, it is kind big explosion and the energy is relesed in all directions but has a trend toward certain directions because of the angles of imact etc... then the matter goes back thru the stages, resulting in huge arteas of new super duper clusters gota go. billy