Stephen Hawking (1942-2018) was a British theoretical physicist born on January 8, 1942, in Oxford, exactly 300 years after the death of the Italian physicist. Galileo Galilei. Hawking became one of the greatest scientists of all time and was responsible for most of the greatest discoveries related to modern astrophysics.
Family
Even from poor families, Stephen's father, Frank Hawking, graduated in Medicine and his mother, Isobel Hawking, he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics, both at Oxford University. In 1962, Stephen entered Trinity Hall College in Cambridge, where, despite not devoting as much time to studies as his colleagues, he graduated with honors.
Stephen married in 1965 with Jane Wilde, then a Literature student he met during graduation, with whom he had three children, Robert (1967), Lucy (1970), his only daughter, and Timothy (1979).
In 1990, Hawking and Jane divorced. Five years later, Hawking married one of his nurses, Elaine Mason. In 2006, he and Elaine divorced, and the separation reconnected the physique to his family and also to his ex-wife.
Scientific achievements and legacy
Hawking's legacy to science is vast. Despite all his difficulties, he was able to write several books of scientific dissemination and even create theses based on the theories of gravity, thermodynamics and quantum mechanics, which give us clues about how the Universe. Below are some of these Hawking theories.
Singularities (1970)
In 1970, together with the English physicist Roger Penrose, Hawking proved that the singularities (points where spacetime is infinitely curved) could be formed inside the black holes. In expanding his idea of the origin of the Universe, Hawking also suggested that the beginning was through one of these singularities.
How Black Holes Work (1972)
One of the laws suggested by Hawking was that the surface area of a black hole never changes, contradicting current predictions by classical physics and even some of the ideas of physics Quantum. Hawking also showed that black holes could be studied in terms of three fundamental variables: mass, angular momentum and amount of electric charge.
The disappearance of black holes (1975)
Until the studies presented by Hawking, it was believed that nothing would be able to escape the gravitational field of black holes, but this scientist was able to show that, due to quantum effects, a small amount in electromagnetic radiation can escape their incredible gravity. This type of thermal radiation became known as Hawking radiation. This energy emission is very slow, but over billions of years, she is responsible for evaporate completely the content of the black holes.
We are the result of quantum fluctuations (1982)
Hawking was never afraid to contradict himself. The physicist had claimed that the Universe had always existed and would always exist, but a few years later he made one of his most controversial theories about the origin of Universe: it would have appeared out of nowhere and, during its expansion, right after the big Bang, there was a inflationary period, in which its growth was exceptionally fast. During this period, the quantum fluctuations they would have shaped space, time, and the forces of nature as we know them today.
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During most of his studies, Hawking tried to unify gravity and quantum theory to fully explain black holes and the very functioning of the Universe.
"Humanity's deep desire for knowledge is justification enough for our continual quest." (Stephen Hawking)
Disease
Also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, a Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurological and degenerative disease that affects the motor neurons, promoting the muscle atrophy. Despite its degenerative effects, the disease does not affect the cognitive capacity of patients. ALS is an incurable disease, and treatment aims to improve the quality of life of those who have it.
When he discovered that he was a carrier of this disease, at age 21, Stephen Hawking's doctors gave him a two year life expectancy. However, his illness progressed slowly. Hawking lived to be 76 years old, when he died on March 14, 2018.
Construction
Hawking was the author and co-author of 15 science popularization books, even with your motor difficulties. In his latest publications, sitting in a wheelchair, the physicist used the movement of the chin to type, on average, one word per minute. His most distinguished publications were:
A brief history of time
Written in 1988 and translated into more than 40 different languages, the book presents, in an accessible way, an overview of the concepts of space and time based on the theories of Relativity General and Quantum Mechanics, as well as a theory of the origin of the universe, its properties and its possible future. In 20 years, the book has sold over 10 million copies.
The universe in a nutshell
Published in 2001, this book is more illustrated, even easier to understand than the previous one, and contemplates the explanation of the most recent cosmological theories about the origin of the universe.
Movie - The Theory of Everything
Despite being one of the most successful scientists of recent years, his popularity gained strength with the arrival of the movie “The Theory of Everything” (2014). In this film, Hawking is played by Eddie Redmayne, an actor who won the Oscar for this role. The film portrayed the life of Stephen Hawking, bringing facts from before and after the emergence of the degenerative disease and facts in science.
* Image credit: twocoms / Shutterstock.com
By Rafael Hellerbrock
Graduated in Physics