2026-07-072026-07-07http://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/200119We study numerically gravitational collapse of a spherically symmetric instanton particle in five dimensions. We show that the late stages of the process are characterized by a nearly constant ``free energy'', the value of which matches (within numerical uncertainties) the value obtained from standard black-hole thermodynamics. This suggests a purely classical interpretation of the free energy of a black hole.11 pages, 5 figures; v3: minor changes; published in Phys. Rev. DHigh Energy Physics - TheoryGeneral Relativity and Quantum Cosmologytext