Stephen Hawking has become the best-known and most popular scientist for his claims about black holes and quantum physics.
The famous physicist was born on January 8, 1942. At age 8 he went to St Albans, 20 miles from London, and enrolled at St Albans school at age 11. After graduating from St Albans, he began studying physics at Oxford University, his father's former school. He then went to Cambridge to study cosmology. After receiving his doctorate, he first became a research assistant and then an associate professor.
Stephen William Hawking (8 January 1942 – 14 March 2018) was an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author who, at the time of his death, was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge. Between 1979 and 2009, he was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, widely viewed as one of the most prestigious academic posts in the world.
In 1973, he left the Institute of Astronomy and moved to the Department of applied mathematics and theoretical physics. He became a professor in 1979. Hawking studied the fundamental principles of the universe. He revealed that Einstein's General Theory of Relativity started with the Bigbang and ended with black holes. Thus, he suggested that General Relativity theory and Quantum mechanics should be merged. This was one of the greatest inventions not only in the world of physics but in the second half of the 1900s.
Stephen Hawking has become the best-known and most popular scientist for his claims about black holes and quantum physics. He wrote many books to popularize his crazy theoretical knowledge of the universe. His books have been translated into more than 40 languages. In this way, he gained the financial independence to develop his laboratory at Cambridge University.
What was Stephen Hawking's illness?
Stephen Hawking's condition was a condition known as ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) disease, which is one of the rarer types of this disease. This disease was in a form that showed itself at a young age and progressed slowly. The diagnosis of this disease was made to Hawking in 1963, when he was 21, and the doctors had given him 2 years to live. This disease would kill 80 percent of the motor neurons over time, but would not touch the mental activities of the brain.
Hawking had to be confined to a wheelchair due to this illness. By the late 1970s, however, he had lost a great deal of his ability to speak. Only the closest people could understand what he was saying, and he was establishing his connection with the outside world.
While visiting CERN in 1985, he contracted pneumonia and had to make a hole in his windpipe. That's why he lost his voice completely. Since 1986, Hawking has been able to communicate with his relatives' thanks to a device placed in his wheelchair that transforms text into sound.
However, he continued to carry out both his daily life and scientific studies. When he wanted to speak, he wrote by squeezing the electronic device in his hand and there were 2600 words recorded on this device. The average number of words a healthy person uses while communicating is 2500. Therefore, Hawking had no trouble expressing himself. But when he lost the ability to use his hand muscles in 2005, he started to choose his words using the muscles in his cheek.
Death of Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking passed away on March 14, 2018, in the early morning. He died at his home in Cambridge, England, at the age of 76. His family had used the expression "he died in peace" when explaining his death. The cause of death was ALS, which was diagnosed at the age of 21 and had no cure.