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Black holes are black because light can't escape from them - the event horizon doesn't let it through, even if something's happening inside. The energy that gets released (Hawking radiation) is actually born right at the edge of the black hole, in a zone where quantum effects become significant, not inside it where it couldn't have gotten out anyway. That's why the black hole itself stays black - the intense gravitational crush at the horizon doesn't let practically anything break free.
You know why this radiation arises specifically at the event horizon rather than deep inside? Here's the thing: particles are born right at the event horizon thanks to quantum effects, and one of them flies outward while the second falls inward and disappears! So the black hole loses energy, but that doesn't make it bright - it stays black because this radiation is extremely weak and incredibly hot (the temperature is negligible for large black holes). Visible light simply can't escape from there, and Hawking radiation is a completely different process that happens at the boundary, not from inside.
lyudmila_sova asker
Thanks, that really helped! I was actually confused about that - I thought the radiation was coming from deep inside the black hole!
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