If correct, this would mark a momentous advance in theoretical physics. What we are finding is that they are very much compatible. Prof Wheeler came up with the name because it conveys the mathematical description of a black hole: an entity which has mass, spin and charge but is otherwise has no other physical features, bald if you like. Known as Hawking radiation , these tiny evaporating particles sent panic rippling through the scientific community by implying that either general relativity or quantum mechanics — the two theories on which we base our entire understanding of reality — may be flawed. Their results do not completely solve the problem, but point to a promising research direction that might lead to its long-awaited solution. They might not even exist at all. Ever since then, many famous physicists around the world have been working on it, proposing very dramatic things to explain it, including some who had suggested that some aspects of quantum mechanics is wrong. At the heart of every black hole sits a problem. One recent attempt at a new theory by physicists from the UK, the US, and Italy has certainly stirred some interest in the general media , though it will be some time before we know one way or another if it's the solution we so desperately seek. But the theory is likely to come under robust scrutiny from the theoretical community.