In this blog article, we will be exploring the life and work of one of the most renowned physicists of our time – Stephen Hawking. We will be looking at 10 different aspects of his life, work and legacy, providing a detailed account of his incredible achievements.
So sit back, relax and enjoy learning about one of the most fascinating people of our generation.
Table of Contents:
1. Early Life and Education
2. Work and Contributions
3. Theoretical Predictions
4. Awards and Recognition
5. Personal Life
6. Popular Culture
7. Later years
8. Death
9. Legacy
10. Top Stephen Hawking Quotes
Early Life and Education
Stephen Hawking was born on 8th January 1942 in Oxford, England. His parents were both academics, with his father being a research biologist and his mother a medical secretary.
Hawking was a bright child and excelled at school, winning a scholarship to study physics at Oxford University. He later went on to study cosmology at Cambridge University, where he would spend the rest of his career.
Work and Contributions
Hawking’s work focused on the nature of space and time, and he made many important contributions to the field of cosmology. He was best known for his work on black holes, and he also did important work on the origin and evolution of the universe.
In addition to his scientific work, Hawking was also a prolific author, and his book ‘A Brief History of Time’ became a bestseller.
Theoretical Predictions
Hawking made many important theoretical predictions during his career, including the existence of black holes and the nature of their radiation. He also made predictions about the future of the universe, and the possibility of time travel.
Awards and Recognition
Hawking was widely respected by his peers, and he received many awards and accolades during his lifetime. He was made a Companion of Honour in 1989, and he was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.
Personal Life
Hawking was diagnosed with motor neuron disease in 1963, and he was given only two years to live. However, he defied the odds and lived for many more years, despite the progressive deterioration of his health.
In 1985, Hawking married Jane Wilde, with whom he had three children. The couple divorced in 1995, and Hawking later married his nurse, Elaine Mason.
Popular Culture
Hawking was widely known outside of the scientific community, and he made many appearances in popular culture. He appeared on ‘The Simpsons’ and ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’, and he also had a cameo in the film ‘The Theory of Everything’.
Later Years
In the later years of his life, Hawking continued to work and write, despite his declining health. He completed his final book, ‘Brief Answers to the Big Questions’, shortly before his death.
Death
Hawking died on 14th March 2018, at the age of 76. His death was widely mourned, and he was hailed as one of the greatest scientists of our time.
Legacy
Hawking’s legacy is vast, and he has left a lasting mark on the world of science. He will be remembered as one of the most brilliant and inspirational thinkers of our generation.
Top Stephen Hawking Quotes
“Even if it turns out that time travel is impossible, it is important that we understand why it is impossible.” – Stephen Hawking
“I think we have a good chance of surviving long enough to colonize the solar system.” – Stephen Hawking
“My discovery that black holes emit radiation raised serious problems of consistency with the rest of physics.” I have now resolved these problems, but the answer turned out to be not what I expected.” – Stephen Hawking
“My advice to other disabled people would be, concentrate on things your disability doesn’t prevent you doing well and don’t regret the things it interferes with.” Don’t be disabled in spirit as well as physically.” – Stephen Hawking
“If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn’t turn out well for the Native Americans.” – Stephen Hawking
“I was born on January 8, 1942, exactly three hundred years after the death of Galileo.” I estimate, however, that about two hundred thousand other babies were also born that day.” I don’t know whether any of them was later interested in astronomy.” – Stephen Hawking
“One can’t predict the weather more than a few days in advance.” – Stephen Hawking
“If the rate of expansion one second after the Big Bang had been smaller by even one part in a hundred thousand million million, it would have recollapsed before it reached its present size.” On the other hand, if it had been greater by a part in a million, the universe would have expanded too rapidly for stars and planets to form.” – Stephen Hawking
“People who boast about their I.”Q.” are losers.” – Stephen Hawking
“I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road.” – Stephen Hawking
“A few years ago, the city council of Monza, Italy, barred pet owners from keeping goldfish in curved bowls… saying that it is cruel to keep a fish in a bowl with curved sides because, gazing out, the fish would have a distorted view of reality. But how do we know we have the true, undistorted picture of reality?” – Stephen Hawking
“My father was a research scientist in tropical medicine, so I always assumed I would be a scientist, too.” I felt that medicine was too vague and inexact, so I chose physics.” – Stephen Hawking
“The universe is governed by science.” But science tells us that we can’t solve the equations, directly in the abstract.” – Stephen Hawking
“In my school, the brightest boys did math and physics, the less bright did physics and chemistry, and the least bright did biology.” I wanted to do math and physics, but my father made me do chemistry because he thought there would be no jobs for mathematicians.” – Stephen Hawking
“My goal is simple.” It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all.” – Stephen Hawking
“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.” – Stephen Hawking
“Time travel used to be thought of as just science fiction, but Einstein’s general theory of relativity allows for the possibility that we could warp space-time so much that you could go off in a rocket and return before you set out.” – Stephen Hawking
“I believe in universal health care.” And I am not afraid to say so.”
“Life would be tragic if it weren’t funny.” – Stephen Hawking
“In the past, there was active discrimination against women in science.” That has now gone, and although there are residual effects, these are not enough to account for the small numbers of women, particularly in mathematics and physics.” – Stephen Hawking
“I think it quite likely that we are the only civilization within several hundred light years; otherwise we would have heard radio waves.” – Stephen Hawking
“I was never top of the class at school, but my classmates must have seen potential in me, because my nickname was ‘Einstein.”‘ – Stephen Hawking
“Life on Earth is at the ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster, such as sudden global nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus or other dangers we have not yet thought of.” – Stephen Hawking
“No one undertakes research in physics with the intention of winning a prize.” It is the joy of discovering something no one knew before.” – Stephen Hawking
“Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing.” – Stephen Hawking
“Science is not only a disciple of reason but, also, one of romance and passion.” – Stephen Hawking
“Look up at the stars and not down at your feet.” Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist.” Be curious.” – Stephen Hawking
“Most sets of values would give rise to universes that, although they might be very beautiful, would contain no one able to wonder at that beauty.” – Stephen Hawking
“There is a real danger that computers will develop intelligence and take over.” We urgently need to develop direct connections to the brain so that computers can add to human intelligence rather than be in opposition.” – Stephen Hawking
“To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit.” – Stephen Hawking
“However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.” – Stephen Hawking
“If I had to choose a superhero to be, I would pick Superman.” He’s everything that I’m not.” – Stephen Hawking
“God not only plays dice, He also sometimes throws the dice where they cannot be seen.” – Stephen Hawking
“Time travel was once considered scientific heresy, and I used to avoid talking about it for fear of being labelled a ‘crank.”‘ – Stephen Hawking
“Time can behave like another direction in space under extreme conditions.” – Stephen Hawking
“There are too many accidents that can befall life on a single planet.” – Stephen Hawking
“The past, like the future, is indefinite and exists only as a spectrum of possibilities.” – Stephen Hawking
“We are all now connected by the Internet, like neurons in a giant brain.” – Stephen Hawking
“Our population and our use of the finite resources of planet Earth are growing exponentially, along with our technical ability to change the environment for good or ill.” – Stephen Hawking
“I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail.” There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.” – Stephen Hawking
“Not only does God play dice, but… he sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen.” – Stephen Hawking
“If the rate of expansion one second after the Big Bang had been smaller by even one part in a hundred thousand million million, it would have recollapsed before it reached its present size.” On the other hand, if it had been greater by a part in a million, the universe would have expanded too rapidly for stars and planets to form.” – Stephen Hawking
“Imaginary time is a new dimension, at right angles to ordinary, real time.” – Stephen Hawking
“People won’t have time for you if you are always angry or complaining.” – Stephen Hawking
“Science is not only a disciple of reason but, also, one of romance and passion.” – Stephen Hawking
“I believe everyone should have a broad picture of how the universe operates and our place in it.” It is a basic human desire.” And it also puts our worries in perspective.” – Stephen Hawking
“We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star.” But we can understand the Universe.” That makes us something very special.” – Stephen Hawking
“There could be shadow galaxies, shadow stars, and even shadow people.” – Stephen Hawking
“Stem cell research is the key to developing cures for degenerative conditions like Parkinson’s and motor neuron disease from which I and many others suffer.” The fact that the cells may come from embryos is not an objection, because the embryos are going to die anyway.” – Stephen Hawking
“We are in danger of destroying ourselves by our greed and stupidity.” We cannot remain to look inwards at ourselves on a small and increasingly polluted and overcrowded planet.” – Stephen Hawking
“Science is increasingly answering questions that used to be the province of religion.” – Stephen Hawking