Stephen Hawking is arguably the most famous scientist who is best known for his exceptional contributions to our understanding of the Big Bang, black holes, relativity. He was born in 1942 and took his last breath on March 14, 2018. He was an English theoretical physicist and cosmologist.
In 1963, Hawking was diagnosed with motor neurone disease that paralyzed him gradually over the years. After he lost his speech, he used a speech-generating device to communicate. The device initially worked through a handheld switch, but later he had to use his single cheek muscle to operate it. Let’s know more about his early life.
Hawking’s education and past life
Hawking went to University College, Oxford, in October 1959 at the age of 17. There he received a first-class BA degree in physics. He obtained his Ph.D. degree at Trinity Hall, Cambridge in October 1962. He specialized in general relativity and cosmology in March 1966.
He collaborated with Roger Penrose for research on gravitational singularity theorems in the framework of general relativity and the theoretical prediction that black holes spit radiation, which is now known as Hawking radiation.
At first Hawking radiation met with controversy, but after the publication of further research, the discovery was widely accepted as a significant breakthrough in theoretical physics. He was the first to theorize cosmology explained by a union of the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics.
Commercial success in popular science
Hawking became successful with several works of popular science where he set out his theories and cosmology in general. He also wrote a book called “A Brief History of Time” that appeared on the Sunday Times bestseller list for 237 weeks, which is a record.
He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the US. Hawing was also listed in the BBC’s poll of the 100 Greatest Britons, where he secured the 25th spot.
Aiming for the stars
In 2006, Hawking told the BBC that one of his unfulfilled desires was to go to space. This encouraged billionaire Richard Branson to offer him a free flight into space with Virgin Galactic, which was immediately accepted by Hawking.
Hawking was also in support of increasing public interest in spaceflight and demonstrate the potential of people with disabilities. In 2007, he came close to his dream when he flew aboard a specially-modified Boeing 727-200 jet operated by Zero-G Corp. At that time, the date of Hawking’s trip to space was expected to happen as early as 2009, but commercial flights became a thing only recently.
In 2006, Hawking asked an open question on the web: “In a world that is in chaos politically, socially and environmentally, how can the human race sustain another 100 years?” later clarifying: “I don’t know the answer. That is why I asked the question, to get people to think about it, and to be aware of the dangers we now face.”
