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Question:

"I am a total novice when it comes to quantum mechanics, but I was reading up on the phenomenon of entanglement and a question arose. Theoretically, could someone take two entangled particles and put one in a black hole, using the other to observe what happens to it? Wouldn't this violate the axiom that no information can escape a black hole? Do you have any ideas about what would happen in this theoretical situation? Have scientists ever discussed this idea or am I totally off-base? Hopefully this is not too stupid a question."

Answer:

"Someone once told me this great entanglement analogy, I'll modify it for this situation. Say you have a pizza that is half Supreme and half Hawaiian. Someone cuts in in half and puts in it two closed boxes, one for you and one for your friend without telling you which half is in which. The two boxes are now 'entangled', each contains a mixed Supreme/Hawaiian state.

Now that you have provisions you decide to go on a journey into a black hole, while your friend stays behind. Once you have passed through the event horizon your friend gets a bit peckish and opens his pizza box. He has the Hawaiian, and also now knows that you have the Supreme. Does this mean that information has passed out of the event horizon, since an outside observer now knows something new about something inside the Hole? The answer is no, since you couldn't use this to send a message from inside the hole. There is no way for you to send a message that yes you have the Supreme, but they accidentally put anchovies on it."

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