Stephen Hawking is a legendary astrophysicist and cosmologist, known for his work on black holes and best-selling books like A Brief History of Time. Also notorious is his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which was diagnosed in Hawking's youth. Due to his illness, Hawking was confined to wheelchair, which, despite everything, did not break, but only inspired and provided the physicist-cosmologist with concentration. Today, Hawking continues to lecture, write books, communicate with fans and give important warnings to naive humanity: about meeting aliens, about artificial intelligence, about the relocation of civilizations to another planet, and so on.
Stephen Hawking's latest work, which examines issues such as the existence of God and the possibility of time travel, was unveiled Monday by his children, who scrambled to finish the book after the death of the British astrophysics giant. Hawking was always asked the same things, so he began work on Short Answers to the Big Questions last year, but didn't finish it until his death in March at age 76. The book was completed by the physicist’s family and academic colleagues, taking materials from his own personal archive.
The BBC broadcasting corporation reported that the famous British physicist Stephen Hawking had died, citing Hawking's family. The internationally recognized popularizer of science was 76 years old.
Biography of Stephen Hawking
Stephen William Hawking was born on January 8, 1942 in Oxford, UK. His parents worked as doctors. Father Frank was engaged in research activities, mother Isabelle held the position of secretary of a medical institution.
Steve wasn't only child in family. He grew up in the company of two sisters and stepbrother Edward, who was adopted by the Hawking family.
After graduation high school He entered Oxford University and received a bachelor's degree in 1962.
Just two and a half years later, in 1966, Stephen became one of the first Doctors of Philosophy from Trinity Hall College at the University of Cambridge.
What kind of disease did Hawking have?
As a child, he was a healthy child and did not get sick even as a teenager.
However, in his youth he was given terrible diagnosis– amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Symptoms of the disease developed at tremendous speed.
Due to illness, Stephen became completely paralyzed. But even in a wheelchair he did not stop at mental development. The future world-famous scientist was engaged in self-education, studying scientific literature, attended seminars.
In 1974 he received permanent membership of the Royal Society of London.
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Complications of the disease
In 1985, Stephen Hawking underwent surgery on his larynx due to complicated pneumonia. After this, the scientist completely stopped talking. His friends, engineers from the University of Cambridge, came to the rescue. They developed a speech synthesizer especially for Stephen.
Hawking's only mobility remained facial muscle cheeks. The sensor, which was installed opposite this muscle, helped the scientist control the computer with which he communicated with others.
Hawking's feat
Scientists, being completely paralyzed, agreed to experience the conditions of being in weightless space. He flew on a specially equipped aircraft. This event occurred in 2007 and completely changed Stephen Hawking's view of the world around him. The scientist set himself a goal - to conquer space no later than 2009. 
Hawking and physics
Stephen Hawking's main expertise is cosmology and quantum gravity. He studied thermodynamic processes occurring in wormholes, black holes and dark matter. A phenomenon that describes and characterizes the “evaporation of black holes”—“Hawking radiation”—is named after him.
In 1997, Stephen Hawking made a bet with Kip Thorne against John Philip Preskill. This was the beginning of Stephen Hawking's revolutionary research, which he presented at a special press conference in 2004.
He challenged his colleague's belief that there is some information in the waves that black holes emit that cannot be deciphered. Hawking countered, based on his own research in 1975, that such information cannot be detected because it falls into a Universe parallel to ours.
And in 2004, at a cosmology conference in Dublin, Hawking presented a new revolutionary theory about the nature of the black hole, admitting that his opponent Preskill was right. In his theory, Hawking concluded that in black holes information did not disappear without a trace, but was significantly distorted, and one day it would leave the hole along with radiation.
Physicist Stephen Hawking (disease - amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) was born in 1942, on January 8. WITH youth He was passionate about mathematics and physics. In 1962 he graduated from Oxford and received a Bachelor of Arts degree. And after 4 years (in 1966) he was educated at Trinity Hall College, which worked closely with the University of Cambridge. Here he received his Ph.D. Subsequently, he was engaged in teaching at the most reputable universities in the UK and the world until the 80s.
Hawking fame
He gained public fame thanks to his scientific theories about black holes and theory big bang. The physicist has been suffering from a serious illness for many years. Stephen Hawking's disease is called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Distinctive feature This man is not only his phenomenal intelligence, but also his attachment to a wheelchair, which has a built-in speech synthesizer system that responds to muscle impulses.
Stephen Hawking: biography, illness and interesting facts about the life of the British theoretical physicist
The world community is constantly discussing the phenomenon of this man’s illness, and at the same time his genius in the field of science. Films are made about him, he is invited to television shows and asked to appear in some cinematic episodes (one such example is his appearance in the television series “The Big Bang Theory”, where he played himself). However, despite his popularity, many do not know what disease Stephen Hawking has. In fact, this is a rare pathology that leads to complete paralysis human body. This is a disease of motor neurons (Charcot's disease, motor neuron disease).
Stephen Hawking: biography, personal life, illness
In 1965, Stephen married Jane Wilde. In 1967, their first child was born - son Robert. Then, in 1970, daughter Lucy was born. And nine years later, a third child was born in the family - son Timothy (b. 1979). All these years, Stephen Hawking's illness did not prevent him from enjoying the relaxed and happy life. However, the couple divorced in 1995 (they had lived separately since 1990). Hawking's second wife was nurse Elaine Mason, with whom he lived until 2006.
What is the strength? In faith and will
In 2012, Stephen Hawking celebrated his anniversary; he then turned 70 years old. A little more than five years have passed since then. Stephen Hawking is a phenomenal person who demonstrates to the whole world his willpower and spontaneous belief in the meaning of life, despite the fact that he has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis for more than half a century.
As a 21-year-old young man, he heard his terrible diagnosis - ALS. As a rule, Stephen Hawking's illness leaves no chance - people with such a pathology cannot live for more than five years, so the British popularizer of physics did not even hope to celebrate his 25th anniversary. When experts identified a terrible disease, they predicted his imminent death, but Stephen was not going to agree with this and continued his usual life, devoting himself to science every day.
The life of a theoretical physicist before a terrible illness
Before his illness, Stephen Hawking (photo below) was a fanatic of his work. He unprincipledly refuted many established theories about space, putting forward new hypotheses that did not lend themselves to counterarguments. As a twenty-year-old youth, he was intellectually superior to many gray-bearded professors and doctors who enjoyed a good reputation in the scientific world.
The steely character of a genius
Thanks to his stable character and outspoken faith in life, he managed to live for more than half a century, despite medical predictions. Stephen Hawking (the disease is called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) demonstrated to the whole world that by constantly working and training your intellect, you can overcome any obstacles in life. Almost every second person on the planet knows about it. His phenomenal theories and scientific articles open the eyes of the whole world about cosmology. He is often mentioned in scientific television programs, and action-packed films are also made in which his person plays the leading role. One has only to remember the movie called "Stephen Hawking's Universe", where Eddie Redmayne played main role, for which he received an Oscar at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015.
How does he communicate with the outside world?
An unsurpassed theoretical physicist devoted his entire life to science. Thanks to him, we can become familiar with the theory of black holes and the nuances of quantum gravity. The man's popularity is explained not only by famous theories, but also by the fact that he has been chained to the world since 1985. wheelchair, and also speaks in a “computer voice” due to the fact that terrible disease Stephen Hawking was rendered unable to speak.
The diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis led the scientist to the fact that he is forced to communicate with people through a computer program that integrates his thoughts into a “computer voice.” This system was specially developed for the British physicist. Thanks to her, he can tell the whole world about the Big Bang theory and many other discoveries in the field of physics and cosmology.
Humanity for a long time did not understand how a paralyzed individual could transmit his thoughts to a computer, which conveys to the public quite adequate and scientific speech. Such a reaction from society is not at all surprising, because in 1985 there were no such analogues of such computer technology. It turns out that a computer speech synthesizer picks up impulses from his cheek muscle activity, which are translated into human speech. Despite this, he still remains a disabled person who needs continuous help and care. The computer speech produced by Stephen is to some extent reminiscent of Google Translate, but the timbre and manner of presentation are different.
Faithful and grateful cooperation with Intel
There is a known case when Hawking was offered to switch to a more modernized software, which conveys speech better, but the genius of physics refused the tempting offer, deciding that the familiar voice was his business card, thanks to which he is recognized throughout the world.
As you know, the first speech synthesizer for Hawking was invented and developed by Intel, which is now developing version 2.0. That is why the brilliant popularizer of physics refused the “upgrade” version of third-party developers, because he is grateful for the many years of support from Intel.
Science will surpass any disease
Without dwelling on his helplessness, Stephen has been accustomed to working fruitfully and achieving new results all his life. The scientific community still cannot object to his genius. For thirty years, Stephen Hawking (the disease is called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) served as senior professor mathematical sciences at the famous and respected University of Cambridge. This fact was admired by the entire scientific community, but no one could have imagined that this achievement was not at all the limit for the British genius - Hawking now holds the position of director of research at the Center for Theoretical Cosmology.
An explanation of Stephen Hawking's longevity, from the point of view of Professor Leo McCluskey
Most patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are diagnosed over the age of 50 (alternatively Lou Gehrig's disease, named after the talented American baseball player who died due to the degenerative disease ALS) and die within five years of being diagnosed with the terrible disease. .
Considering the fact that he was diagnosed at the age of 21, Hawking was lucky to live much longer than people with a similar disease. This phenomenon caused a global resonance among representatives of the medical community. For a long time, many doctors and professors could not understand how Stephen Hawking, whose medical history predicted a fatal outcome, lived to be seventy-five years old, and how the phenomenon of his illness is explained from a scientific point of view.
What features does this degenerative disease have, and why are some parts of the central nervous system are not subject to pathological damage - all these questions tormented world medical experts. However, the famous professor of neurology Leo McCluskey (Rector of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania) put forward an hypothesis about why Stephen Hawking lives so long. Motor neuron disease is a more extensive pathology than previously understood. The fact is that the concept of ALS this moment not entirely accurate.
Why do some patients with motor neuron disease live long?
In fact, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis affects more than just motor neurons. During scientific research It has been found that about 10 percent of patients suffering from ALS have problems with the functional activity of certain parts of the brain (often in the frontal and temporal lobes), in which there is no motor neurons(in other words, motor neurons).
Despite the fact that Lou Gehrig's disease, as is commonly believed, does not affect the brain regions responsible for the level of mental activity, in medical practice there are cases where patients were diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (in other words, acquired dementia). The life expectancy of patients diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis directly depends on how long the neurons that are responsible for the periodic movement of the diaphragm, as well as the ventilation function of the respiratory organs (i.e., lungs), work. If these organs become passive, a person develops a syndrome respiratory failure, which predicts a fast death. Also, if a person has problems with the swallowing function of the muscles due to ALS, everything can end in death due to hunger or dehydration.
If none of the above happens, then the patient can live quite a lot of years, but his quality of life is noticeably reduced - the person must be periodically examined by doctors, and also undergo a course of medication with a certain frequency.
According to some assumptions, Hawking’s diaphragm (as well as the swallowing function of the muscles) is not impaired, because the disease was detected in an early form. Leo McCluskey says that in his practice there were cases when a similar pathology was identified in some people at the age of 16, and they lived until they were 60-65 years old. Nevertheless, a naturally confirmed explanation (with medical point sight) their longevity is still not there.
Today, at the age of 76, the literally brilliant physicist Stephen Hawking passed away. A man whose willpower everyone can envy. A person who managed despite life circumstances and physical limitations to make dozens of discoveries.
Let's remember what Stephen Hawking gave to humanity and what is remarkable about his research and scientific works.
Personal life, illness
As a child, Stephen was an ordinary child. The boy was never sick and graduated with honors from Oxford University with a bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics.
1963 was a turning point for Hawking - doctors diagnosed the guy with amyotrophic sclerosis (ALS). An incurable disease that progressed every day. Then the doctors assured that Stephen would not live more than two years.
Stephen lost the ability to speak in 1985. A complication from pneumonia caused a tracheostomy. As a result, Hawking was forced to use a speech synthesizer.
In 1965, Stephen married linguistics student Jane Wilde. The couple had three children: two sons (1967 and 1979) and a daughter (1970). Alas, after 20 years, Stephen and Jane filed for divorce, but, as each party assures, they remained friends.
In 1995, Hawking married his caregiver Elaine Mason. The marriage lasted 11 years and ended in divorce in 2006.
Since 1965, Hawking has been active scientific activity and for 15 years managed to work with research groups Institute of Theoretical Astronomy, become a teacher in the department of applied mathematics and theoretical physics, as well as the theory of gravity.
What is Stephen Hawking remembered for? Hypotheses and discoveries
The legendary theoretical physicist has dozens of scientific discoveries. Fate played a cruel joke on the talented scientist: being physically confined to a wheelchair, Hawking continued to make discoveries in the field of physics.
1. The Universe gave birth to itself
Hawking was skeptical of religion and was a convinced atheist. He repeatedly cited in his scientific works hypotheses that claim that God is not needed for the existence of life on Earth.
Due to the fact that there is such a force as gravity, the Universe could create itself out of nothing. Spontaneous creation is the main reason why we exist. No additional force that can “light” the fire and make the Universe work is needed.
Hawking's universe is a world that was created solely by the laws of physics, gravity and the attraction of particles.
2. Black holes and “Hawking radiation”
In the mid-70s, Hawking conducted a series of studies, the results of which revolutionized cosmology. The scientist found that so-called black holes are characterized by radiation.
Hawking described black holes as a kind of gravitational field resulting from the collapse of stars. If in order to leave the gravitational field of the Earth and leave the planet it is necessary to develop a second escape velocity(everyone develops it modern rockets), then the speed of light will not be enough to escape beyond the black hole.
Hawking radiation is explained by a modification of the energy of the particles that originally formed the star. The ratio of the energy of quantum particles before and after the collapse of a star is called Hawking radiation.
Before Hawking put forward this theory, cosmology tended to favor the theory that black holes are completely static and do not emit any energy. Stephen looked at the problem from the perspective of quantum physics.
It is noteworthy that it was black holes that Hawking called “an inexhaustible source of energy.” Alas, scientists have not yet been able to apply this discovery in practice.
3. Predicting the end of humanity
Due to the constantly growing number of people living on Earth, the amount of energy consumed by humanity is also growing.
Realizing this, Stephen Hawking predicted the death of planet Earth by 2600. The reason for this is the gradual increase in temperature due to energy consumption. Hawking was confident that within 500 years the Earth would turn into a “blazing ball of fire.”
Hawking’s theory was taken seriously and the search for a “reserve planet” for the inhabitants of the Earth began to be carried out much more actively from the day the hypothesis was announced.
4. Einstein, relativity and GPS errors
The general theory of relativity was formulated by Einstein at the beginning of the 20th century. Stephen Hawking not only considered himself one of the popularizers of this theory, but also managed to warn manufacturers of satellite navigation systems against global mistakes.
The closer an object is to Earth, the slower time passes for it. Given the difference in distance that the satellites are from each other, each of them will perceive time differently.
Hawking's research confirmed that neglecting this scientific fact can lead to errors in GPS navigation and cumulative error, which would lead to a decrease in accuracy of up to 10 kilometers per day.
5. The past is a probability
Hawking did not accept the fact of the connection between the past and the present. The physicist was confident that quantum mechanics could explain everything that happened in the past as a random and arbitrary set of events.
Whatever you remember about the past, it, like the future, exists solely as a spectrum of possibilities.
Simply put, Hawking Once again emphasized that there are no patterns in time.
6. The Universe is fickle
In 1988, Hawking published the book Short story time." In a few months it turns into a bestseller. main idea works – the impermanence of the Universe.
Until the 20th century, scientists were sure that the Universe is something eternal and unchanging. Stephen Hawking argued the opposite.
Light from distant galaxies is shifted towards the red part of the spectrum. This means that they are moving away from us, that the Universe is expanding.
This assumption is called the Big Bang theory (also known as the “Birth Theory”).
7. Extraterrestrial civilizations exist
Hawking was sure that aliens exist, but only a meeting between humans and representatives extraterrestrial civilizations don't bode well.
Stephen Hawking suggested that if alien technology surpasses human technology, the Earth will turn into a colony.
There are more than 100 billion galaxies in the Universe. Each consists of 100 million stars. I am sure that Earth is not the only place where life develops.
Invaluable contribution to the popularization of science
At the end of 2015, a medal named after Professor Stephen Hawking was established in London. The award is given for the popularization of science and the promotion of works that contribute to the advancement scientific knowledge in a variety of fields.
For three years the pioneer received the award electronic music Jean-Michel Jarre, American astrophysicist and popular science writer Neil deGrasse Tyson, composer Hans Zimmer and other personalities trying to make science more popular and accessible to ordinary people.
Stephen Hawking has been called the last great dreamer. His legacy and works will live on long years. Thanks to Hawking. He managed to change humanity's views on information, on the perception of black holes, on the singularity and understanding of the Universe.
Rest in peace, Stephen.
Let's leave current affairs aside and dive into the world of science, and more specifically, theoretical physics. Stephen Hawking, one of the most famous and popular physicists of our time, has made many scientific discoveries and assumptions about the structure of the world.
1. The past is a probability
According to Hawking, one of the implications of the theory of quantum mechanics is that events that happened in the past did not happen in any particular way. Instead they happened by all possible ways. This is due to the probabilistic nature of matter and energy according to quantum mechanics: Until there is an outside observer, everything will float in uncertainty.
Hawking: “No matter what memories you currently hold of the past, the past, like the future, is uncertain and exists as a spectrum of possibilities.”
2. There is a “Theory of Everything”
M-theory, proposed by Edward Witten in the 1990s, was conceptualized and refined by Hawking and his colleague Leonard Mlodinow. M-theory is a branch of string theory and describes the entire Universe at once. According to it, at the smallest level, all particles consist of branes - multidimensional membranes, the properties of which can explain absolutely all processes occurring in our Universe. By the way, this theory also assumes the existence huge number universes in which they operate physical laws, different from ours.
3. General relativity relates to errors in navigation systems
The general theory of relativity was formulated by Einstein in 1915. It postulates that “gravitational effects are caused not by the force interaction of bodies and fields located in space-time, but by the deformation of space-time itself, which is associated, in particular, with the presence of mass-energy.”
Hawking acted as a popularizer of this theory. He states, in particular, that "If general theory relativity will not be taken into account in GPS navigation satellite systems, errors in determining global positions will accumulate at a rate of about 10 km per day. It is important to understand that the closer an object is to Earth, the slower time flows. Thus, depending on the distance from the Earth the satellites are, their on-board clocks will work with at different speeds. We could compensate for this difference automatically if this effect were taken into account.”
4. Aquarium fish oppressed
“Imagine yourself as a fish living in an aquarium with convex walls. What would you know about our world if you spent your whole life looking at it distorted by glass and had no way to get out? It is impossible to know the true nature of reality: we believe that we clearly imagine the world, but, metaphorically speaking, we are doomed to spend our whole lives in an aquarium, since the capabilities of our body do not allow us to get out of it.” - says Hawking.
Impressed by this metaphor, the authorities of the city of Monz, Italy, several years ago legally prohibited keeping fish in round aquariums, so that the distortion of light would not prevent the fish from perceiving the world as it is.
5. Quarks are never alone
Quarks, " building blocks» protons and neutrons exist only in groups and never alone. The force that binds quarks together increases with the distance between them, so if you try to pull one quark away from another, the harder you pull, the harder it will try to break free and come back. Free quarks do not occur in nature.
6. The Universe gave birth to itself
Hawking is a convinced atheist. He devoted a lot of time scientific evidence that no God is needed for life to exist. One of his famous sayings is: “Because gravity exists, the universe could and did create itself out of nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason why the Universe exists, why we exist. There is no need for God to 'light' the fire and make the universe work."
Selena Parfenova (www.factroom.ru)
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