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Scientist

Stephen Hawking

1942–2018 · Cosmology, Theoretical physics, Astrophysics

British theoretical physicist and cosmologist who made revolutionary contributions to the theory of black holes, predicted Hawking radiation, and advanced the understanding of the Big Bang and gravitational waves. His work unified general relativity and quantum mechanics, laying the foundations of quantum cosmology.

Biography

Studied at Oxford and Cambridge. Despite progressive motor neuron disease, he held the position of Lucasian Professor at Cambridge. Author of the bestseller 'A Brief History of Time'. Received numerous awards, including the Wolf Prize and the Copley Medal, but did not receive the Nobel Prize because Hawking radiation has not yet been confirmed by observations.

Key discoveries

Hawking radiation — a quantum process of black hole evaporation due to the creation of particle pairs near the event horizon.
Singularity theorems — in collaboration with Roger Penrose, proved the inevitability of singularities in black holes and at the beginning of the Universe.

💡 Hawking was known for his scientific gambling: he bet colleagues a magazine subscription that black hole radiation would never be found, but when indirect evidence appeared, he happily admitted defeat and paid up.

"He described his goal as simple: a complete understanding of the Universe, including why it is as it is and why it exists at all."

Concepts

black hole gravitational waves big bang

Laws

Hawking radiation Bekenstein-Hawking entropy holographic principle Hawking area theorem Cosmic Censorship Principle First law of black hole mechanics

Scientists

Henri Poincaré Fritz Zwicky Jacob Bekenstein Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Arno Penzias Rainer Weiss Ralph Alpher Edwin Hubble

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