The world-famous theoretical physicist and scientist Stephen William Hawking was born on January 8, 1942 in Oxford, Great Britain, into a family of doctors.

Father Frank was engaged in research activities, mother Isabelle held the position of secretary medical institution, working in the same team with your spouse. Steve grew up with two sisters and stepbrother Edward, who was adopted by the Hawking family.

After graduating from high school, Stephen entered Oxford University, from which he received a bachelor's degree in 1962. Two and a half years later, in 1966, the young man became one of the first Doctors of Philosophy from Trinity Hall College at the University of Cambridge.

Disease

From his early childhood, Stephen was a healthy boy; even in his youth he was not bothered by any illnesses. But in his youth a misfortune happened to him. Young Stephen was diagnosed with a terrible disease - amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

The diagnosis sounded like a death sentence. Symptoms of the disease developed with enormous speed. As a result future genius science remained completely paralyzed. Despite this, Stephen Hawking always appears in photographs with a kind smile. Being chained to wheelchair, Stephen didn't stop at mental development, self-educated, studied scientific literature, attended seminars. The guy fought every minute. His moral spirit helped him gain permanent membership of the Royal Society of London in 1974.

In 1985, Stephen Hawking underwent surgery on the larynx, which could not be avoided due to complicated pneumonia. Since then, Stephen stopped talking completely, but continued to actively communicate with colleagues using a speech synthesizer developed by his friends - engineers at the University of Cambridge - especially for him.

For a while, Hawking could move his index finger. right hand. But this ability was lost over time. The only facial muscle of the cheek remained mobile. A sensor installed opposite this muscle helped Stephen control a computer with which he could communicate with the people around him.

Despite serious illness, the biography of Stephen Hawking is filled with rosy events, scientific discoveries and achievements. The terrible disease did not break Stephen, it only slightly changed the course of his life. Almost completely paralyzed, Stephen Hawking saw no obstacles in his own illness and led a full, work-filled life.

One day Hawking accomplished a real feat. He agreed to experience the conditions of being in weightless space by flying on a specially equipped aircraft. This event, which occurred in 2007, completely changed Stephen Hawking's view of the world around him. The scientist set himself a goal - to conquer space no later than 2009.

Physics

Stephen Hawking's main expertise is cosmology and quantum gravity. The scientist 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 1974, Stephen and another well-known specialist at the time, Kip Korn, argued about the nature of the Cygnus X-1 space object and its radiation. Stephen, managing to contradict his own research, argued that this object is not a black hole. However, having suffered a defeat, in 1990 he gave the winnings to the winner of the dispute. It should be noted that the bets of the young guys were quite “serious”. Stephen Hawking put his one-year subscription to the erotic glossy magazine Penthouse on the line, and Kip Korn put his four-year subscription to the humorous magazine Private Eye on the line.

In 1997, Stephen Hawking made another bet, but this time with Kip Thorne against John Philip Preskill. The controversial debate has become Starting point in the groundbreaking research of Stephen Hawking, which he presented at a special press conference in 2004. According to John Preskill, there is some information in the waves that black holes emit that cannot be deciphered.

Hawking contradicted this argument, relying on the results of his 1975 research. He argued that the information cannot be deciphered, since it falls into a Universe parallel to our galaxy.

Later, in 2004, during a press conference in Dublin on the topic of cosmology, Stephen Hawking put forward new theory about the nature of a black hole. With this conclusion, Hawking was again defeated in the argument, having to admit that his opponent was right. In his theory, the physicist nevertheless proved that information does not disappear without a trace, but one day it will leave the black hole along with thermal radiation.

In 2015, the premiere of the full-length feature film “Stephen Hawking’s Universe” took place, in which the young scientist was played by the outstanding Hollywood actor Eddie Redmayne, according to the producers, is ideal for this role. The film sold for quotes that are actively used by British youth.

Stephen William Hawking(English Stephen William Hawking, January 8, 1942, Oxford, UK - March 14, 2018, Cambridge, UK) - English theoretical physicist and popularizer of science. He studied the theory of the origin of the world as a result of the Big Bang, as well as the theory of black holes.

In April 1988, the book “A Brief History of Time” was published, in the preface he wrote:

I was told that every formula included in the book would halve the number of buyers. Then I decided to do without formulas altogether. True, in the end I still wrote one equation - the famous Einstein equation E=mc².

The book became a bestseller, sold more than 10 million copies and made Hawking famous throughout the world.

Hawking was the first to present a theory of cosmology that combines general relativity and quantum mechanics. He was an energetic proponent of multidimensional interpretation quantum mechanics. He was an honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), a life member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. In 2002, Hawking was ranked 25th in a BBC poll of the 100 greatest Britons. He worked as a professor of mathematics at Cambridge from 1979 to 2009.

Hawking's disease

Hawking was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, or a slowly progressive form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), at the age of 21. In 1963, doctors reported that he would not last three years. Since the late 1960s, he began using a wheelchair, and in 1985, a severe form of pneumonia required surgery - Hawking lost his voice forever.

Over the decades, the disease gradually paralyzed him.

After losing his voice, Hawking used his eyebrows to show letters on a special map. In 1986, Walter Voltos provided him with the Equalizer synthesizer program, installed first on Hawking's home computer and then on a small computer integrated into his chair. For some time he retained some mobility only forefinger on Hawking's right hand - he pressed a special switch that allowed him to select pre-recorded phrases. Subsequently, mobility remained only in the facial muscle of the cheek, opposite which the sensor was attached. With its help, the physicist controlled a computer that allowed him to communicate with others.

Despite the illness that almost completely paralyzed him, he led active life. In 2007, Hawking made a zero-gravity flight on special plane, and a space flight was planned for 2009, which did not take place.

“It was wonderful, I could repeat this experience over and over again,”- Hawking admitted after the flight.

In the latest portraits of the astrophysicist, you can see a silver device the size of a paperclip mounted on the frame of his glasses. This is an infrared sensor through which complex computer system determines where exactly the gaze is directed. Similar systems (but simpler) are used in cameras, pedometers and game consoles).

Popular theories of Stephen Hawking

Hawking radiation

Hawking radiation is a hypothetical process of “evaporation” of black holes, that is, the emission of various elementary particles (mainly photons).

The process was predicted by Hawking in 1974. His work, by the way, was preceded by a visit to Moscow in 1973, where he met with Soviet scientists: one of the creators of atomic and hydrogen bomb Yakov Zeldovich and one of the founders of the theory of the early Universe, Alexei Starobinsky.

“When a huge star contracts, its gravity becomes so strong that even light can no longer escape its confines. The area from which nothing can escape is called a “black hole”. And its boundaries are called the “event horizon”,- this is how Hawking explains.

Note that the concept of a black hole as an object that does not emit anything, but can only absorb matter, is valid as long as quantum effects are not taken into account.

It was Hawking who began to study the behavior of elementary particles near a black hole from the point of view of quantum mechanics. He found out that particles can go beyond its boundaries and that a black hole cannot be completely black, that is, there is residual radiation. Fellow scientists applauded: everything has changed now! Information about the discovery spread like a hurricane in the scientific community. And it had a similar effect.

Hawking later discovered a mechanism by which black holes can emit radiation. He explained that from the point of view of quantum mechanics, space is filled with virtual particles. They constantly materialize in pairs, “separate”, “meet” again and annihilate. Near a black hole, one of a pair of particles can fall into it, and then the second will have no pair left to annihilate. Such “thrown” particles form the radiation that the black hole emits.

From this Hawking concludes that black holes do not exist forever: they emit more and more strong wind and eventually disappear in a giant explosion.

“Einstein never accepted quantum mechanics because of the element of randomness and uncertainty associated with it. He said: God doesn't play dice. It looks like Einstein was wrong twice. The quantum effect of a black hole suggests that God not only plays dice, but also sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen."- says Hawking.

Emission from black holes - or Hawking radiation - showed that gravitational compression is not as final as previously thought: “If an astronaut falls into a black hole, it will then return to the outer part of the Universe in the form of radiation. So, in a sense, the astronaut will be redesigned."

The Question of God's Existence

In 1981, Hawking attended a conference on cosmology in the Vatican. After the conference, the Pope gave an audience to its participants and told them that they could study the development of the Universe after the big bang, but not the big bang itself, since this was the moment of creation and therefore the work of God.

Hawking later admitted that he was glad that the Pope did not know the topic of the lecture that the scientist had given before. It was precisely about the theory according to which the Universe did not have a beginning, a moment of creation as such.

There were similar theories in the early 1970s, they spoke of a fixed space and time that was empty throughout eternity. Then, for some unknown reason, a point formed - the universal core - and an explosion occurred.

“If we move backwards in time, we reach the big bang singularity, where the laws of physics do not apply. But there is another direction of movement in time that avoids the singularity: it is called the imaginary direction of time. In it one can do without a singularity, which is the beginning or the end of time.". — Hawking believes

That is, a moment appears in the present, which is not necessarily accompanied by a chain of moments in the past.

“If the universe had a beginning, we can assume that it also had a creator. But if the Universe is self-sufficient, has no border or edge, then it was not created and will not be destroyed. She simply exists. Where then is the place for its creator?- asks the theoretical physicist.

From the big bang to black holes

With this subtitle, Hawking's book A Brief History of Time was published in April 1988, which instantly became a bestseller.

Eccentric and highest degree smart Hawking is actively involved in popularizing science. Although his book talks about the emergence of the Universe, the nature of space and time, black holes, there is only one formula - E=mc² (energy is equal to mass multiplied by the square of the speed of light in free space).

Until the 20th century, it was believed that the Universe was eternal and unchanging. Hawking argued in very accessible language that this is not so.

“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."- he says.

A static Universe seems more attractive: it exists and can continue to exist forever. It is something unshakable: a person ages, but the Universe is always as young as at the moment of formation.

The expansion of the Universe suggests that it had a beginning at some point in the past. This moment when the Universe began to exist is called the big bang.

“A dying star, contracting under its own gravity, eventually turns into a singularity - a point of infinite density and zero size. If we reverse the course of time so that contraction becomes expansion, it will be possible to prove that the universe had a beginning. However, the proof based on Einstein's theory of relativity also showed that it was impossible to understand how the universe began: it demonstrated that all theories did not apply at the moment the universe began."- notes the scientist.

Humanity awaits destruction

The cup can be seen falling off the table and breaking. But you can’t see how it comes back together from the fragments. The increase in disorder—entropy—is precisely what distinguishes the past from the future and gives direction to time.

Hawking asked the question: what will happen when the Universe stops expanding and begins to contract? Will we see how broken cups assembled from fragments?

“It seemed to me that when the compression began, the Universe would return to an ordered state. In this case, with the beginning of compression, time should have turned back. People in this stage would live their lives backwards and get younger as the Universe contracts,”- he said.

Attempts to create a mathematical model of the theory were unsuccessful. Hawking later admitted his mistake. In his opinion, it was that he used too simple a model of the Universe. Time will not turn back when the Universe begins to shrink.

“In the real time in which we live, the Universe has two possible fates. It can continue to expand forever. Or it may begin to shrink and cease to exist at the moment of the “big flattening”. It will be like a big explosion, only in reverse."- the physicist believes.

Hawking admits that the Universe still faces an ending. However, it is stipulated that he, as the prophet of the end of the world, will not have the opportunity to be at that time - after many billions of years - and realize his mistake.

According to Hawking's theory, humanity can only be saved in this situation by the ability to break away from the Earth.

Aliens exist

People are sent into space unmanned vehicles with images of a person and coordinates indicating the location of our planet. Radio signals are sent into space in the hope that alien civilizations will notice them.

According to Hawking, meetings with representatives of other planets do not bode well for earthlings. Based on his knowledge, he does not deny the possibility of existence extraterrestrial civilization, but hopes that the meeting will not happen.

In a documentary television series on the Discovery Channel, he expressed the opinion that if alien technology surpasses that of Earth, they will definitely form their own colony on Earth and enslave humanity. Hawking compared this process to the arrival of Columbus in America and the consequences that awaited the indigenous population of the continent.

“In a Universe with 100 billion galaxies, each containing hundreds of millions of stars, it is unlikely that Earth is the only place where life develops. From a purely mathematical point of view, the numbers alone make it possible to accept the idea of ​​the existence of alien life as absolutely reasonable. The real problem is what aliens might look like and whether earthlings will like their appearance. After all, they could be microbes or single-celled animals, or worms that inhabited the Earth for millions of years,”- says Hawking.

Even the cosmologist’s relatives and friends note that one cannot believe his every word. He is a seeker. But in such a matter there are more assumptions than facts, and mistakes are inevitable. But even so, his research gives a person food for thought, a point from which one can begin to search for an answer to the question of the existence of man and the Universe.

“The answer to this question will be the greatest triumph of the human mind, for then we will know the mind of God.” says Hawking.

Hawking's books

Throughout his life, Stephen Hawking wrote many scientific articles, and among other things, became the author and co-author of popular science books, which subsequently gained wide popularity:

• A Brief History of Time
• Black holes and young universes
• The world in a nutshell
• On the shoulders of giants
• God created integers
• Theory of everything
• My short story
• Large-scale structure of spacetime
• The nature of space and time
• Big, small and the human mind
• The future of spacetime
• Brief history of time
• Higher Purpose

Personal life

In 1965 he married Jane Wilde, and later they had a son, Robert (b. 1967), a daughter, Lucy (b. 1970), and a son, Timothy (b. 1979). Stephen's relationship with Jane gradually deteriorated - his wife felt overwhelmed by the invasion family life numerous nurses and assistants. Hawking's views on religion also contrasted with her strong Christian faith and led to conflicts. In 1990, they began to live separately. After his divorce from Jane in 1995, Hawking married his carer, Elaine Mason, and stated:

"It's wonderful - I married the woman I love."

Young Stephen Hawking with his fiancee Jane

In 2006, Hawking and Mason divorced, and Hawking resumed a closer relationship with Jane, his children, and his grandchildren. Reflecting this happy period, a revised version of Jane's book, Journey to Infinity: My Life with Stephen, appeared in 2007 and became the basis for the film about Hawking's biography, A Theory of Everything, released in 2014.

Wedding of Stephen Hawking and his second wife - Elaine Mason

As noted NTV correspondent Alexey Kondulukov, a man who could not speak for many years, after all. “We are just the evolved descendants of apes on a small planet with an unremarkable star. But we have a chance to comprehend the Universe. This is what makes us special,” said one of the most special people. A man who personified the power of thought. Conquering the stars, overcoming circumstances that would make anyone despair, fatal disease, on long years chained him to a wheelchair.

Stephen Hawking: “The prospect of dying early made me realize that life is worth living.”

Stephen Hawking was born in 1942 in Oxford, graduated from the university there at the age of 20 and did research at Cambridge. He studied and taught astronomy, gravitational physics and mathematics. It became one of the largest modern scientists already after doctors discovered he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at the age of 21. Doctors gave him only a few years to live, but he lived for more than 50 years, and what years! He wrote several books about the structure of the Universe, traveled all over the world with lectures, developed the theory of black holes and the origin of the Universe as a result of the big bang. If many people have not read “A Brief History of Time” by Stephen Hawking, millions have heard the title of the book.

Stephen Hawking: “There is nothing bigger and older than the Universe. There are several issues about her that I would like to talk about. First. Where did we come from? How was the existence of the Universe possible? Are we alone in the Universe? Is there extraterrestrial life? What is the future of the human race?

He was completely paralyzed, with only one facial muscle in his cheek moving, but with the help of a sensor attached to it, Hawking was able to communicate with the world through a speech synthesizer and control a computer, which allowed him to write. In astrophysics, Hawking theorized that low-mass black holes lose energy and emit energy, called Hawking radiation.

“If you feel like you're in a black hole, don't give up. There is a way out,” he answered with humor, and this humor, all-conquering optimism made him perhaps the most famous scientist after Einstein, the hero of books, television films and even cartoons “The Simpsons” and a cameo in “Star Trek.” Four years ago, his early years were filmed Feature Film“The Theory of Everything,” nominated for an Oscar and won many international awards. The outstanding popularizer of science, Stephen Hawking, turned his life into a bestseller; with his speeches and his example, he gave millions of people hope, even where there seemed to be none. Ultimately, hope for all humanity.

Stephen Hawking: "I'm not sure human race will live at least another thousand years if he does not find an opportunity to escape into space. There are many scenarios for how all life on a small planet can die. But I'm an optimist. We will definitely reach the stars."

Upon entering Oxford, the young man immediately chose his vocation - theoretical physics. Already at university, Stephen began to show the first signs of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. This disease paralyzed his muscles, and Hawking soon found himself in a wheelchair. Currently, the scientist retains control over only two fingers and facial muscles.

Since 1965, Hawking worked at the University of Cambridge, and in 1966 he received his doctorate. Scientific activity scientist is associated with quantum gravity and cosmology. Hawking was the first in the world to turn to the laws of thermodynamics, explaining the phenomena associated with black holes. For his achievements, Hawking became a member of the Royal Society of London in 1974. In 1975, he developed the theory of “evaporation” of black holes, which brought the scientist worldwide fame.

In 1985, Stephen Hawking fell ill with pneumonia. The disease caused complications, and the physicist had to undergo throat surgery. He lost his voice and has since communicated with people using a voice synthesizer. That did not stop him from writing and publishing the book “A Brief History of Time,” which was published in 1988. Since then, Stephen Hawking has been known not only to scientists, but also to ordinary people.

Hawking's theories turned the world upside down. People began to think about such distant Everyday life things like the size of the universe and the radioactivity of black holes. The scientist practically raised people's eyes to the sky. Being the most famous popularizer of science and being able to explain his thoughts in simple and understandable language, Stephen Hawking made it so that “smart guy” is no longer an offensive nickname, popular TV series are being made about theoretical physicists, and more and more young people are striving to learn all the secrets of space.

On Stephen Hawking's birthday "Evening Moscow" collected 10 interesting facts about the scientist.

1. Hawking did poorly at school

Now Stephen Hawking is known as a brilliant scientist and the author of theories that are difficult to understand ordinary person. It's hard to believe that Stephen was behind in school. In second grade I was the worst in the class. However, since childhood, the boy was interested in how everything around him worked. He took the radio and watch apart, but he couldn’t put them back together.

IN high school Hawking raised his GPA slightly. However, his classmates realized that a genius was growing next to them, and even gave him the nickname “Einstein.” Due to low grades, a problem arose: the father dreamed of sending his son to Oxford, but he could not count on a scholarship. Fortunately, the son did not want to disappoint his parent, and when it came to final exams, Stephen received the highest score in physics, earning himself a scholarship.

2. His chair uses the latest technology

Hawking can write books, communicate with people and answer letters thanks to a revolutionary communication system with outside world, which was created by the American company Words+ in 1985.

In the photo of Stephen Hawking you can see a small device that is attached to the temple of his glasses. This is an infrared motion sensor that is connected to a computer. The system monitors movement facial muscles scientist - the only ones that were not destroyed by the disease. With their help, Stephen can select a specific area on the monitor and “click” on it. This is how Hawking types texts and speaks through a speech synthesizer, spelling words. Stephen's home is equipped with a smart home system, which he can also control using facial signals. The sensor reads commands and sends a signal to devices.

3. Hawking hated biology

Stephen liked mathematics since childhood, but he hated biology, finding it too imprecise. But his father Frank wanted his son to become a doctor. And there was no mathematics department at Oxford. As a result, Hawking entered the physics department. And when he was faced with a choice of what to study - elementary particles and their behavior or cosmology, Stephen preferred the latter. He said that "it was like botany. There are particles, but no theory."

4. Was on the Oxford rowing team

Until the scientist was struck by a disease that almost completely paralyzed him, he was not particularly interested in sports. But a rowing team needs a helmsman to guide the team. For Oxford, rowing is a traditional sport, and a very popular one at that. And Stephen also became popular, he had many friends and no longer felt lonely. However, due to daily training, my studies suffered.

5. Student Favorite

Hawking gives scientific lectures around the world. He tells the secrets of the Universe in simple and understandable language, jokes a lot, students laugh, and at the end they reward the lecturer with a storm of applause. Even President Clinton, who listened to Stephen's lecture at the White House, called his speech "an amazing event" and was glad that in his thoughts Hawking saw the future "not static, but still human and dynamic."

6. Participated in the creation of the theory of an infinite Universe

One of Hawking's main achievements was the theory that the Universe has content, but no boundaries. To understand this, you can imagine the Universe as a sphere. If you walk along its surface in any direction, it is impossible to reach the border or corner. Fundamental difference The universe is that it has four dimensions, as opposed to the two-dimensional surface of a sphere. However, according to Hawking, the Universe is finite in space-time and will one day end its existence - but not earlier than in 20 billion years.

7. Writes children's books

Stephen Hawking, together with his daughter Lucy, writes books for children. In 2007, the book "George's Secret Key to the Universe" was published. This fantastic story is about George, who meets his neighbor, a physicist. A neighbor has the most powerful computer in the world, which can open portals to space. Most of books are dedicated to explaining cosmic phenomena in simple language.

8. Believes in alien life

Stephen Hawking believes that, given the size of the Universe, the probability that Earth is the only habitable planet tends to zero.

"Primitive life is very common," Hawking said. - “Reasonable is a rarity.” However, the scientist warns that alien life could not have arisen on the basis of DNA, and human immunity will not be able to withstand alien diseases. Hawking believes that aliens could deplete their own planet and become invaders. Or they can create a system of mirrors, focus the energy of the sun at one point and “dig a wormhole” for travel in space-time.

9. Been in zero gravity

In 2007, Hawking experienced zero gravity. Zero Gravity provides the ability to soar using a plane that takes off and dives sharply. People inside can experience a state of weightlessness for about 25 seconds. Hawking was even able to do a somersault while freed from his wheelchair. Stephen has always dreamed of going to space, but his interest goes deeper. Scientist sponsors private space research, hoping that people will be able to travel to other planets to survive if something happens to Earth.

10. Lost a bet on black holes

In 2004, the brilliant Hawking admitted that he was wrong and lost a bet that he made in 1997 with a scientist he knew. The bet was about black holes.

Powerful gravity of stars

As nuclear fuel inside the star burns up, energy comes out, counteracting the powerful stellar gravity. When a star dies, gravity becomes so strong that the star is pulled in on itself, creating a black hole. Light cannot escape the confines of a black hole. However, in 1975, Hawking stated that black holes are not black. On the contrary, they radiate energy. In this case, all data disappears into a black hole.

American theoretical physicist John Preskill disagreed with the conclusion that information is lost in a black hole. In 1997, he made a bet with Hawking, arguing that information simply could not leave her, which did not contradict the laws of quantum mechanics. Hawking admitted that he was wrong only thirty years later.

Remembering that I will die soon is the most important tool that helps me accept complex solutions in my life. Because everything else - other people's expectations, pride, all this fear of embarrassment or failure - all these things dissolve in the face of death, leaving only what is really important.
Steve Jobs

At twenty-one, he was given a diagnosis that sounded like a death sentence. Doctors gave the talented Cambridge graduate student no more than two or three years to live. Half a century has passed since then, and Stephen Hawking not only struggled with a terrible illness all this time, but also became one of the most famous scientists of our time. His contribution to theoretical physics is difficult to overestimate, and life path Hawking and the strength of his spirit can only be admired.

Hostage of your own body

Twenty-three-year-old Hawking came to his wedding already leaning on a cane.

Stephen was born on January 8, 1942, becoming the first child in the family of Frank and Isabel Hawking - they later had two daughters and also an adopted son.

At first, it was impossible to assume that the boy would have a great scientific future. By his own admission, he learned to read only at the age of eight, and in the schools where he studied, Stephen did not shine at all - exams were given to him without much difficulty, but he did not chase excellent marks. But Hawking with early years He was keenly interested in how everything that surrounds him works - from toys to the Universe. It was this curiosity that ultimately prompted him to devote his life to unraveling the mysteries of the universe.

For writing " Brief history time" Hawking undertook to earn money to teach children

In 1962, Stephen Hawking graduated with honors from Oxford and decided to move from his alma mater to Cambridge, where he planned to pursue a doctorate. The theory of relativity was not given to him - it required much more thorough mathematical training than what Stephen had at that time, and therefore he gave preference to cosmology.

By that time, Hawking had already begun to have health problems, but until then he did not realize how serious they were. First, stiffness in his movements appeared, then he fell down the stairs in the hostel, and from a summer trip to Iran he returned completely exhausted. Finally, in the winter, at the insistence of his mother, Stephen went for an examination, the results of which were disappointing. Doctors diagnosed Hawking with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive disease. nervous system, which inevitably leads to paralysis and almost always entails quick death.

The reaction of the young genius to the doctors' verdict was completely natural and human - deep depression. Why continue research and work on a doctorate if there is simply no time left to contribute to science, and indeed to live in general?

Love helped overcome the surging wave of despair. Shortly before Stephen learned about terrible reason his ailments, he met Jane Wilde, his friend younger sister. A romance began between the young people, and Hawking again felt a taste for life. In the fall of 1964, the engagement took place, and for the first time Stephen had an incentive to work as hard as he could: if he was going to start a family, he had to complete his dissertation and find something that would allow him to support himself and his wife. So, despite his illness, Stephen led an extremely eventful life.

On July 14, 1965, he and Jane married, and the following spring Hawking defended his doctoral dissertation and was soon awarded the J. Adams Prize from the Department of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. In 1967, when, according to doctors, Hawking should no longer be alive, Jane gave birth to his first child, a son, Robert. Subsequently, the couple had two more children. Of course, household chores fell mainly on Jane’s shoulders, and if at first her husband needed primarily moral support, then very soon he also needed careful care.

In 2004, the BBC channel released a television film about Hawking's early life, in which he played the role of the scientist Benedict Cumberbatch(film "Star Trek Into Darkness", television series "Sherlock")

The passion of the explorer

Throughout his scientific career, Stephen Hawking repeatedly entered into disputes with his colleagues that ended in comic bets. Moreover, Stephen almost always had to admit defeat in the end.

• In the mid-seventies, Hawking argued with his friend and colleague Kip Thorne about the nature of the astronomical object Cygnus X-1. Hawking was betting that the object would not be a black hole. According to rumors, he himself hoped for the opposite, because at that time the very existence of black holes was in doubt. Be that as it may, in 1990, when new observational data confirmed that black holes do exist and that Cygnus X-1 is one of them, Hawking admitted losing and “paid off” the winner’s debt - a year’s subscription to the adult magazine Penthouse, than pretty pissed off Thorne's wife.
• In 1997, Hawking, along with Thorne, entered into an argument with University of California professor John Preskill. He argued that Hawking radiation is associated with information that has fallen into a black hole and, thus, this information does not disappear without a trace. Stephen himself and Thorne were of the opinion that radiation is a kind of new information, the source of which should be sought within the event horizon itself black hole. Seven years later, Hawking changed his point of view, and Preskill received an award - an encyclopedia on baseball. True, the loser, with his characteristic irony, noted that he should have given Preskill ash instead of a book and clearly demonstrated in what form information absorbed by a black hole can return.
• At the turn of the millennium, Hawking bet $100 that the Higgs boson would not be found. In July 2012 European Center nuclear research reported the discovery of a particle - and Stephen immediately admitted that he was wrong again.

Newton's heir

Although the disease did not develop at all as expected by the doctors who had given up on Hawking in advance, his health steadily deteriorated. In 1970, he found himself confined to a wheelchair, and a few years later he could no longer even eat or move from bed to wheelchair without assistance. From that time on, one of Stephen's students constantly lived in the Hawking house and helped Jane take care of her husband. And then the scientist’s voice began to fail him - an unprepared person simply could not understand what Stephen was saying, so he had to read his lectures with a “translator.”

At the same time, Hawking worked with productivity that would be the envy of all healthy people. In particular, it was Stephen who first showed the connection between the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. Together with Roger Penrose, he proved that if general relativity is correct, then the initial state of the universe was a singularity.

According to Jane, in last years marriage, her main task was to remind Stephen that he was not God...

In the early seventies, Stephen became one of the founders of the theory of black hole thermodynamics. In addition, he, along with several colleagues, postulated that to describe any black hole, information about its mass is sufficient, electric charge and kinetic moment.

And in 1974, shortly after a visit to the USSR and communication with Soviet physicists, Hawking was able to theoretically substantiate that black holes emit elementary particles and can “evaporate.” This made a real revolution in ideas about black holes, because previously it was believed that they only absorb matter. The effect is called “Hawking radiation,” although it has not yet been confirmed by observational data.

It is impossible not to note Hawking’s active participation in the development of the theory according to which the Universe has no boundaries. To illustrate this, Stephen compares the Universe to our planet: its space is finite, but there is no “edge of the Earth.”

And all this is just the tip of the iceberg! Hawking’s contribution to the development of theoretical physics can hardly be overestimated, and most likely only our descendants will be able to fully appreciate it.

Stephen Hawking's work brought him not only well-deserved fame in the scientific community, but also numerous awards, which began to rain down on him like a cornucopia from the mid-1970s. The collection of awards received by Hawking both from scientific organizations and from various states is replenished with enviable regularity to this day. In particular, he was awarded the Albert Einstein Prize, the Eddington Medal awarded by the Royal Astronomical Society of Great Britain, the Hughes Medal from the Royal Society of London, and became Commander of the Order British Empire and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the highest awards in the United States.

Stephen once threw a party for time travelers, but didn't send invitations until the day after.

In 1979, Hawking received the post of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, which was previously held by such luminaries of science as Newton, Babbage and Dirac. This position remained with him over the next thirty years - despite his continued deteriorating health. A new heavy blow of fate struck the scientist in 1985. During a visit to Switzerland, to the European Center for Nuclear Research, Hawking contracted pneumonia, and the disease almost brought him to the grave. There was a moment when the scientist’s condition seemed hopeless and the doctors suggested turning off the life support system, but Jane flatly refused.

In the end, doctors managed to save the physicist’s life, but during treatment they had to perform a tracheostomy, and this operation forever deprived Hawking of his voice. At first after his illness, Stephen could communicate with others only with the help of his eyebrows: with their movement, he let his interlocutor, who was holding a card with letters in his hands, know which letter he had in mind. Of course, it became almost impossible to convey complex thoughts and reasoning, much less work on new scientific projects after the operation.

The American Walt Walstosh, who developed the Equalizer program, came to the aid of the sick scientist. By selecting letters, words or phrases on the screen, which were then voiced by a speech synthesizer, Hawking could again maintain full communication with people - especially after his wheelchair built in a mini-computer.

On the set of the television series "The Big Bang Theory" with actor Jim Parsons

In 1985, Hawking could still use two fingers of his right hand and used them to control a computer. Over time, they too refused Stephen. In recent years, only a few muscles have retained mobility right cheek- it is to their contractions that a special sensor reacts, which allows Hawking to type texts. Alas, at a much lower speed than before - only one word per minute.

After Hawking survived pneumonia, his family and students were no longer strong enough to care for him properly, and three nurses had to be hired to provide round-the-clock care. One of them, Elaine Mason, later became his second wife.

Stephen separated from his first wife in the early 1990s after a quarter of a century life together. Obviously, during this time Jane had to endure many difficulties that most wives would not dream of in their nightmares, but this was not the only reason family discord. Sincerely believing Jane, she could not come to terms with the views of her husband, who cut God out of the picture of the world with Occam’s razor.

However, it was not she who initiated the breakup, but Hawking himself, who decided to go to Elaine. In 1995, Stephen filed for divorce from Jane and almost immediately remarried. The second marriage was not as durable as the first, and divorce followed in 2006. By that time, Hawking was no longer just a recognized genius and prominent scientist, but a world celebrity.

In 2007, Hawking and his daughter Lucy experienced zero gravity.

Scientist and religion

Even at school, his classmates nicknamed Steven Einstein. Like "father" general theory relativity,” Hawking continually mentions God on the pages of his works and talks about his plans, but for Stephen these are nothing more than metaphors, and he does not consider himself a believer, which he has emphasized more than once in his speeches and interviews. Moreover, in his works he has repeatedly argued that God is not needed to explain the Universe, and in his latest popular science book, “The Supreme Design,” co-authored with physicist Leonard Mlodinow, Hawking emphasizes that for the appearance of everything existence does not need a Creator - the laws of physics are enough.

Popular physics

Any scientist, especially a theoretical physicist, whose research is far from everyday needs, rarely manages to gain wide fame outside the scientific community. Hawking became one of the rare exceptions to this rule thanks to his popularization activities. Stephen does not hide the fact that he has always been upset by how little people who are far from science are interested in its advanced achievements. In the early 1980s, Hawking began work on his first popular science book, A Brief History of Time, which was intended to convey to readers in an understandable form the ideas of modern physics about the origin of the Universe and its structure.

At a performance with his daughter Lucy

Hawking himself admitted that he does not really like complex mathematical formulas and it is more convenient for him to work with visual images. It was in this form that he decided to convey cosmological theories to ordinary people. Almost all of them were presented on the pages of “A Brief History of Time” with the help of visual illustrations, and in the book there was a place for only one equation - the famous E = mc². This approach has fully justified itself. Of course, Hawking hoped that he would be able to captivate a mass audience with the mysteries of the Universe, but he did not expect that his book would be a resounding success.

“A Brief History of Time” has gone through many reprints, been translated into more than forty languages, and its circulation has exceeded ten million copies. IN old times Hawking had money problems more than once: big family, treatment, nurses - all this required a fair amount of money. Need to replenish family budget was one of the reasons that prompted the scientist to take up the book. After its release, Stephen's financial problems became a thing of the past - he now became a millionaire. And as the book spread around the world, Hawking's fame grew steadily.

Since the early 1990s, the scientist has become a frequent guest on television. First of all, of course, as the author and presenter educational programs, where he talks about the nature of space-time and black holes, the origin of the Universe and those mysteries of the universe that science has yet to uncover. For example, about the possibility of time travel or the existence of aliens. But the matter does not stop there.

In 1992, a film based on A Brief History of Time was released, which caught the eye of Leonard Nimoy, who played Spock in the Star Trek series. The actor contacted the scientist and invited him to star in the series in a cameo role. Hawking agreed and in one of the episodes of “The Next Generation” he played cards with the android Data, Sir Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. In recent years, Stephen has repeatedly appeared in the sitcom “The Big Bang Theory,” dedicated to the lives of young nerd scientists. The last episode with his participation was released in September 2017.

Hawking is the only one who starred in " Star Trek"as himself

Homer Simpson's theory that the universe is a giant donut was so popular with the cartoon Hawking that he was willing to steal it.

It was already too late to change his scientific career to an acting one, but Hawking clearly liked playing himself, and over the following years he returned to this role more than once - for example, in the animated series “Futurama” and “The Simpsons”. The scientist is presented there in an ironic manner, but Stephen loves to joke, including at himself. This is probably one of those qualities that allowed him to endure all the blows of fate and emerge victorious from the duel with her.

Despite his advanced age and deteriorating health, Hawking was engaged in research into the nature of the universe and the popularization of science until last days. The scientist died on March 14, 2018, having lived half a century longer than the doctors promised him. And although his dream of going into space never came true, he lived a rich life and did more than anyone in his place could. Stephen Hawking proved that there are no adversities in life that cannot be overcome through intelligence and will.

Space tales

In 2007, Stephen Hawking tried himself in a new role - the author of children's books. Together with his daughter Lucy, who became a journalist and writer, Stephen composed a trilogy of adventures little boy George and his friends, who, with the help of a supercomputer, travel through the Universe and become acquainted with its secrets. Young readers not only follow the adventures of the heroes, but also get acquainted with the basics of modern physics in an entertaining way.

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Perhaps, since Einstein, no scientist has received such attention general public like Hawking. His name is mentioned every now and then in games, TV series, on the pages of science fiction books and comics... And this, perhaps, serves as no less convincing proof of his services to humanity than numerous awards and prizes.

Stephen was buried on March 31, 2018 in Cambridge next to the graves of Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin.