Stephen William Hawking

CH CBE FRS FRSA (8 January 1942 – 14 March 2018) was an English theoretical physicist,
cosmologist, and author who was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology
at the University of Cambridge at the time of his death.[18][19][8] He was the Lucasian Professor of
Mathematics at the University of Cambridge between 1979 and 2009.

His scientific works included a collaboration with Roger Penrose on gravitational singularity
theorems in the framework of general relativity and the theoretical prediction that black holes
emit radiation, often called Hawking radiation. Hawking was the first to set out a theory of
cosmology explained by a union of the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. He
was a vigorous supporter of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics.[20][21]

Hawking achieved commercial success with several works of popular science in which he
discusses his own theories and cosmology in general. His book A Brief History of Time appeared
on the British Sunday Times best-seller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks. Hawking was a
Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS), a lifetime member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and
a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United
States. In 2002, Hawking was ranked number 25 in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons.

In 1963, Hawking was diagnosed with an early-onset slow-progressing form of motor neurone
disease (MND; also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis "ALS" or Lou Gehrig's disease) that
gradually paralysed him over the decades.[22][23] Even after the loss of his speech, he was still able
to communicate through a speech-generating device, initially through use of a hand-held
switch, and eventually by using a single cheek muscle. He died on 14 March 2018 at the age of
76, after living with the disease for more than 50 years.

Greatest Contribution
1970 Singularities in gravitational collapse
Physicists working on Einstein's theory of gravity noticed that it allowed for singularities –
points where spacetime appeared to be infinitely curved. But it was unclear whether
singularities were real or not. Roger Penrose at Birkbeck College in London proved that
singularities would indeed form in black holes. Later, Penrose and Hawking applied the same
idea to the whole universe and showed that Einstein's theory predicted a singularity in our
distant past. It was the big bang.

1971-72 Black hole mechanics

Black holes have their own set of laws that mirror the more familiar laws of thermodynamics.
Hawking came up with the second law, which states that the total surface area of a black hole
will never get smaller, at least so far as classical (as opposed to quantum) physics is concerned.
Also known as the Hawking area theorem, it created a puzzle for physicists. The law implied
that black holes were hot, a contradiction of classical physics that said black holes could not
radiate heat. In separate work, Hawking worked on the "no hair" theorem of black holes, which
states that black holes can be characterised by three numbers – their mass, angular momentum
and charge. The hair in question is other information that vanishes when it falls into the black
hole.

1974-75 How black holes can vanish

Nothing can escape a black hole, or so physicists once thought. Hawking drew on quantum
theory to show that black holes should emit heat and eventually vanish. The process is slow for
normal black holes. It would take longer than the age of the universe for a black hole with the
same mass as our sun to evaporate. But smaller black holes evaporate faster, and near the end
of their lives release heat at a spectacular rate. In the last tenth of a second, a black hole could
explode with the energy of a million one megaton hydrogen bombs.

1982 How galaxies might arise

A popular theory in cosmology holds that the fledgling universe went through a period of rapid
inflation soon after the big bang. Hawking was one of the first to show how quantum
fluctuations – minuscule variations in the distribution of matter – during inflation might give
rise to the spread of galaxies in the universe. What started as a tiny difference grew into the
cosmic structure we see, as gravity made matter clump together. Recent maps of the heavens
that pick up the faint afterglow of the big bang reveal the kinds of variations Hawking worked
with.

1983 Wave function of the universe

Hawking has spent much of his time trying to develop a quantum theory of gravity. He started
out applying his idea of Euclidean quantum gravity to black holes, but in 1983 teamed up with
Jim Hartle at Chicago University. Together they proposed a "wave function of the universe"
that, in theory, could be used to calculate the properties of the universe we see around us.

News Chip on the functions of the brain

Chip allowing brain-computer
communication to come ‘before
the end of next year’ — Elon

MuskElon Musk’s start-up

Neuralink is aiming to connect
the human brain with a machine
interface “before the end of next
year,” the CEO announced on
Tuesday (July 16).

Speaking at a conference in San

Francisco, Musk presented
‘version one” of his neuron-sized threads and microprocessor chips that he claims will help
people with severe brain injuries and eventually grow to allow humans to connect with
advancing artificial intelligence (A.I.) technology.

The implantation of the threads, which Musk said are a tenth the size of a human hair, require
the use of a special robot, but a minimally invasive surgery.

Once the threads are implanted into the brain, their connecting chip would wirelessly connect
with a device worn outside the body.

Neuralink is seeking U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval and while Musk said his
preliminary task is to help people with disabilities interface with computers using their minds,
the end goal is to keep up with A.I.
Tuesday’s conference was designed as a marketing tool – Musk told the crowd gathered at the
California Academy of Sciences that Neuralink was actively seeking out potential employees to
join their team. (REUTERS)

Hawking’s View of the Brain

Stephen Hawking has said he believes brains could exist independently of the body, but that
the idea of a conventional afterlife is a fairy tale.

Speaking at the premiere of a documentary film about his life, the theoretical physicist said: "I
think the brain is like a program in the mind, which is like a computer, so it's theoretically
possible to copy the brain on to a computer and so provide a form of life after death.

"However, this is way beyond our present capabilities. I think the conventional afterlife is a fairy
tale for people afraid of the dark."

The 71-year-old author of A Brief History of Time, who earlier this week backed the right for the
terminally ill to end their lives as long as safeguards were in place, was diagnosed with motor
neurone disease at the age of 21 and given two to three years to live.

"All my life I have lived with the threat of an early death, so I hate wasting time," Hawking said
on Thursday night, using the computer-generated voice he controls with a facial muscle and a
blink from one eye.

The documentary explores the headlong rush of a brilliant schoolboy with illegible handwriting
who enjoyed the dilettante life of Oxford University before illness sparked a lifelong frenzy of
discovery about the origins of the universe, which began as a graduate at Cambridge University
and has astounded the world.

The film premiered in the same year as the release of his autobiography, Stephen Hawking: My
Brief History.

His sister Mary says in the film that her brother was highly competitive and curious about
everything in a household which friends described as very academic, and explains how she
received a doll's house as a present when they were children, to which Stephen immediately
added plumbing and electricity.

She told Reuters that life with her brother was engaging, exciting and occasionally frustrating.
"It's a waste of time arguing with Stephen, he always manages to turn the argument round,"
she said.

The film goes back to his childhood and his student days and shows the scientist, who uses a
wheelchair, at home with carers. It also explores his family life with first wife, Jane, and their
three children, the breakdown of their marriage and his subsequent marriage to one of his
carers.

Jane appears on camera to explain how the pressures of caring for the children and the
increasingly disabled Hawking became even worse once full-time nurses were brought into the
home, obliterating any privacy.

His second wife and former nurse, Elaine Mason, does not appear in the film, and Hawking
portrays their 1995-2007 marriage with a few pictures and a brief description.

Reflection

Our brain plays a vital role in our lives. It acts as the central unit of our body which sends
signals to the different parts of our body to command action. It enables us to understand our
situation and to asses them accordingly. Having brains make us smart, it enables us to feel.
Without it, there would be no centralize system that will help us understand and act upon our
understanding.
I think it is very important for us to understand the functions of the brain really well so
we can use it and maximize it to its fullest potential. If we can realize how powerful the brain is,
we would be able to use it in the best way possible, having the ability to critically think towards
innovation, creativity and development of new ideas that would be so beneficial not just for
ourselves but for the community as a whole- catering to the welfare of the people and the
society.
Without our brains, we would be empty vessels taking up to an unknown journey. The
brain plays a vital part. It tells us direction. It gives us the power to think, to rationalize and to
act and without it, we wouldn’t function.
 Stephen
Hawking
and his
Contributions
Submitted by: Joshua R. Diaz
Submitted to: Ms. Cherry Nino