Stephen William Hawking

Stephen Hawking is one of the most precious gems in the world of physics, who was ahead of his time. His disability of having unsteady feet and being diagnosed with degenerative disease couldn’t stop Stephen Hawking from becoming the world’s most famous and acclaimed scientist. Even his survival would have been a marvel to this world, but he lived amazingly till 76. Who was Stephen William Hawking? Stephen William Hawking was a British physicist, born on 8th January 1942. He is considered the most brilliant theoretical physicist of all time. He revolutionized the field of physics through his work on the origin of the universe and the black hole explosion theory. From the big bang to black holes, all his best-selling books appealed to physics lovers across the globe. The English theoretical physicist whose theory of the explosion of black holes illustrated upon the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. He also worked in the field of space-time singularities. Why did Stephen Hawking never receive a Nobel Prize? Stephen Hawking is the best-known scientist in modern times. He is considered one of the most remarkable theoretical physicists in history. His research on the origin and structure of the universe, from the Big Bang to black holes, has revolutionized the field. His best-selling books attracted readers who perhaps had no scientific training on Hawking. Stephen Hawking's Amazing Life At the age of 35, Hawking became a Lucasian professor of mathematics at Cambridge, a position held by some of the greatest British physicists, including Newton. In March 2018, Professor Stephen Hawking died. For fifty-five years, he fought a disease that was supposed to kill him in five years. Brilliant theories advanced Einstein's thinking and introduced Hawking into the pantheon of important modern physicists. His best-selling surprise book and iconic looks may have presented it to the public and made him love, but his knowledge of gravity, black holes, and the Big Bang is his greatest legacy. Hawking wanted to explain his work to the public and earn money to support his family while his health was declining. A brief history of time was a bestseller for four consecutive years. Hawking believes that his success depends on exposing people to great philosophical problems. He also believed that the human interest stimulated sales. The book sold more than nine million copies. It made Hawking famous and changed his life. Hawking's famous theory about the black hole Hawking's work on black holes is continuing. In 2004, he had a bold new idea of whether black holes violated the laws of physics. One of the basic ideas of quantum theory is that the physical properties of subatomic particles (or “information”) cannot be destroyed. Hawking realized that black holes could be a way to explore the Holy Grail of physics: a unified theory that combines general relativity with quantum mechanics. These two powerful but incompatible theories describe the universe at cosmic and subatomic scales, respectively. Hawking’s attempt to combine them had a surprising result: black holes should shine. This effect is now known as Hawking Radiation. This work cemented his reputation as a great thinker of his generation. In 1974, he was elected a member of the 32-year-old Royal Society and one of the youngest to obtain the honor. The reason why Stephen Hawking didn't have a Nobel Prize Stephen Hawking's major work was "black holes". Classical theory predicts that they are dense and massive objects to such an extent that no matter, light, or information can escape. Applying the properties of quantum mechanics, Hawking showed that these black holes can "leak". This "black hole evaporation" is thus known as "Hawking radiation". However, it should be remembered that Hawking had many theories. He did not have any physical experiences. It therefore remains to be seen how this radiation will be observed in reality. Thus, he was not awarded the Nobel Prize, because his theories about the evaporation of black holes were not confirmed by observations. For example, when the theory of the Higgs boson was predicted, scientists did not receive a Nobel Prize. It was only after the observation of the boson in 2012 at the LHC, the largest particle accelerator in the world, found at CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) that the Nobel Prize was awarded in 2013 to Peter Higgs and François Englert. Had this been done during his lifetime, Hawking would probably have won a Nobel Prize. The Nobel Prize is awarded only to living researchers. That is why Stephen Hawking will never have it, unless there is a change in the rules of attribution. Stephen Hawking’s Education Awards & Achievements Stephen William Hawking studied physics in 1962 at the University College, Cambridge and in 1966 in the Trinity Hall, Cambridge,. His contributions in physics are unparalleled, which often left other scientists scratching their heads. Professor Stephen William Hawking holds 13 honorary degrees. He was bestowed CBE (1982), Fellow of Honor (1989) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009). He has received the Fundamental Physics Award (2013), the Copley Medal (2006) and the Wolf Foundation Award (1988). Along with a bunch of other honours awards and medals, he won the Adams Prize in 1966 for his essay Singularities and the Space-time Geometry. He was also a member of the Royal Society, the National Academy of Sciences of the United States and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. The Physics of Black Hole Stephen William Hawking’s name has always been associated with the black hole. He put forward his stroke of genius combining Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, which has already aroused curiosity and has been under debate for decades, and the theory of quantum mechanics. In the early 1970s, Hawkins turned his attention to both of these theories, and later on, Stephen William Hawking’s most famous thesis on black holes was proven right. The Big Bang Hawking’s doctoral thesis was written at a critical time when there was an argument between two cosmological theories: the Big Bang theory and the Steady State theory. Both these theories were considered to be opposing each other at that time. However, both theories accepted that the universe is expanding, but the first one explains that the universe is expanding from an ultra-compact, super-dense state at a finite time in the past, and the second one assumes that the universe has been intensifying forever. Hawking showed in his thesis that the Steady State theory is mathematically self-contradictory. He reasoned instead that the universe began as a dense point called a singularity which was infinitely small. His description has been accepted worldwide today. Hawking Radiation The photons or the particles of light can’t escape from the black holes because of their intense and strong gravity. But Stephen Hawking argued on it, explaining the truth, which was more complex than the assumed fact. He applied quantum theory, especially the idea of “virtual photons”; he realized that some of these photons could appear to be radiated from the black hole. At a laboratory experiment in the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, it has recently been confirmed that this theory is correct and is named Hawking Radiation. Instead of a real black hole, the researchers used a “sonic black hole” from which sound waves cannot outflow. The Multiverse Stephen Hawking was also involved in the most exciting topics toward the conclusion of his life was the multiverse theory. He proposed the idea that our universe, with its start in the Big Bang, is just one of an infinite number of contemporaneous bubble universes. In his very last paper in 2018, he proposed a novel mathematical framework and tried to seek out the universe in his own words. But as with any assumption concerning parallel universes, we do not have any idea if his ideas are right now. Maybe the scientists will be able to test his belief in the coming times. Not only an amazing physicist but Stephen Hawking was an amazing and inspiring personality too, he left behind his great research theories and thoughts as his legacy to us, which is truly a gift in physics. Stay tuned to BYJU’S for more such interesting articles. Also, register to “BYJU’S – The Learning App” for loads of interactive, engaging Physics-related videos and unlimited academic assistance. Frequently Asked Questions Q1 What Stephen Hawking is famous for? Apart from one of the most brilliant British physicists Stephen Hawking is famous for his theories on the Big Bang and the black hole concept. Q2 What is Stephen Hawking’s IQ Stephen Hawking has tried to keep his IQ a secret but it was estimated that his IQ is around 160. Q3 When did Stephen Hawking write his first book? In 1973 Stephen Hawking wrote his first book which is named as “The Large Scale Structure of Space-TIme” Q4 How many types of Black holes are there? There are four types of black holes: Stellar Intermediate Supermassive Miniature Q5 What is Big Bang Theory? The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model explaining the existence of the observable universe from the earliest known periods through its subsequent large-scale evolution.