Stephen Hawking No More?
The news written by Ohidur Rahman.
Stephen Hawking written by Ohidur Stephen
Hawking who is a world renowned theoretical
physicist, cosmologist, astronomer and mathematician
has passed away aged 76.
Interestingly, as a stellar scientist he popularised
science to the modern generation.
And as a physicist he worked on the power
of the human mind.
His best-selling book “A Brief History of
Time” talks about logically the mysteries
of space, time and black holes.
Amazingly, 10 million copies were sold in
20 years and this book was translated in three
dozen languages.
Among 9 other books are The Grand Design,
Black Holes and Baby Universes, and The Universes
in a Nutshell.
Although he did not win a Nobel Prize, this
book alone made him a celebrity scientist
like Albert Einstein.
However, he was proven wrong by American theoretical
physicist John Preskill in a debate in 1997
about his claim that nothing can escape a
black hole, not even information.
He also admitted his mistake in 2004.
As Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the
University of Cambridge, he is also an Isaac
Newton’s successor.
He was seriously involved in search for the
great goal of physics a “unified theory.
And now he is no more.
He breathed his last peacefully at his home
at Cambridge, England.
He had been suffering from amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis (ALS) since 21 years of his age.
He proved false the statement of doctors who
supposed he would die in two years, instead
of 55 years.
Richard Green said Hawking had been an inspiration
to people with the disease for many years.
His children Lucy, Robert and Tim briefed:
“He was a great scientist and an extraordinary
man whose work and legacy will live on for
many years.
His courage and persistence with his brilliance
and humour inspired people across the world.
He once said, ‘It would not be much of a
universe if it wasn’t home to the people
you love.’
We will miss him forever.”
He was severely attacked by pneumonia in 1985.
The disease forced him to breath through a
tube and to communicate through an electronic
voice synthesizer with robotic monotone.
Still he carried on his scientific work, appeared
on television and even married for a second
time.
He had anticipated to live in another planet
as he said in 2008: “In the long run the
human race should not have all its eggs in
one basket, or on one planet.
I just hope we can avoid dropping the basket
until then.”
He became famous for his theoretical work
on black holes.
He falsified the belief that black holes are
so dense that nothing could escape their gravitational
pull.
He projected that black holes leak a tiny
bit of light and other types of radiation.
And it is known as “Hawking radiation.”
A theoretical physicist at the University
of California, Gary Horowitz said, “It came
as a complete surprise.
It really was quite revolutionary.”
He also contributed substantially to cosmology,
the study of the universe’s origin and evolution.
He proposed in1983 that space and time might
have no beginning and no end.
He pointed out, “Asking what happens before
the Big Bang is like asking for a point one
mile north of the North Pole”.
Hawking was born in Oxford on 8 January 1942.
He grew up in London and entered Oxford University
in 1959 and went on to graduate work at Cambridge.
He married Jane Wilde in 1965 and became a
father of three children, Robert, Lucy and
Timothy.
Jane took care of Hawking for 20 years during
his illness.
He received Albert Einstein Award in 1978.
And in 1989 Queen Elizabeth II conferred one
of the highest distinctions as a Companion
of Honor.
Hawking took a dramatic decision.
He divorced Jane in 1991.
It was a bitter separation which affected
his relationship with their children.
And Jane pointed out in her autobiographical
“Music to Move the Stars” that her caring
for Hawking for some three decades had left
her feeling like “a brittle, empty shell.”
Four years later Hawking married his one-time
nurse Elaine Mason.
Still no matter what kind of ups and downs
prevailed in his life, Stephen Hawking would
remain as the luminous star in the minds of
scientists in particular.
Video News: Ohidur Chad, Assistant Professor
of English & Director, Language Centre of
University of Information Technology & Sciences
(UITS), Baridhara, Dhaka
Important about Stephen Hawking
Hawking was born exactly 300 years after the
death of Galileo.
His PhD (1965) thesis title was 'Properties
of Expanding Universes'.
In 1966 he won the Adams Prize for his essay
'Singularities and the Geometry of Space-Time'.
He discovered in 1974 that black holes should
not be completely black, but rather should
emit 'Hawking' radiation and eventually evaporate
and disappear (1974).
Another presumption he made was that the universe
has no edge or boundary in imaginary time.
He has been awarded 3 honorary degrees: CBE
(1982), Companion of Honour (1989) and the
Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009).
Moreover, he has received many awards, medals
and prizes.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and a
member of the US National Academy of Sciences
and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
Here are top 10 quotes from the famous scientist:
1.
Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.
2.
The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance,
it is the illusion of knowledge.
3.
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.
4.
My goal is simple.
It is a complete understanding of the universe,
why it is as it is and why it exists at all.
5.
Life would be tragic if it weren't funny.
6.
I have no idea.
People who boast about their IQ are losers.
7.
People won't have time for you if you are
always angry or complaining.
8.
We only have to look at ourselves to see how
intelligent life might develop into something
we wouldn’t want to meet.
9.
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.
10.
Not only does God play dice, but... he sometimes
throws them where they cannot be seen.
