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A Brief History of Hawking

Team StoryWeavers|April 03, 2018, 07:18 IST| 131

“I am just a child who has never grown up. I still keep asking these ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions. Occasionally, I find an answer.”

He was an exception, a genius and a curious mind. Challenging the future, racing against his own time, he might be one of the powerful examples of sheer determination and hope. He made way ahead…in his wheelchair, traveled around the world, studying and giving lecturers about Time & Space.

Yes, we are addressing the prodigy, the King of Physics- Professor Stephen William Hawking, a Physicist, Cosmologist and a dreamer. “Although I cannot move, I have to speak through a computer, but in my mind, I am free,” said Stephen Hawking during one of his lectures.

Here is a brief rundown of the brilliant theoretical physicist and his groundbreaking works in the field of Cosmology and Physics.

Early Life

  • Stephen Hawking was born on 8th of January 1942, exactly 300 years after the death of Galileo.
  • At School, he was nicknamed as ‘Einstein’.
  • He did his degree in natural sciences, specializing in Physics from Oxford University, London.
  • In 1962, he graduated with first-class honors and left for Cambridge University to begin his Ph.D.

His race against time and life

  • At 21, he was diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) which is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.
  • He returned to Cambridge to complete his PhD
  • He worked on one of the most debated topics at that period of time: ‘The existence of Universe and its birth.’
  • In 1965, he made a breakthrough discovery. His theory stated that ‘the Universe had a beginning.’ He controversially showed that there is no need of a creator or a god because the universe came to an existence all by itself.

The black-hole theory

When Stephen was working on his thesis, at that time, Physicist Roger Penrose was working on ‘what happens when a star collapses under the force of its own gravity?’ He claimed that the star would crush itself to a tiny point of infinite density where time itself would come to a stop. He called it a ‘singularity- the heart of a black hole’.

The concept of singularity refers to a one-dimensional point which contain huge mass in an infinitely small space, where density and gravity become infinite and space-time curves infinitely and where the laws of physics as we know them cease to operate. Basically, it is the center of the black hole where gravity is thought to approach infinity.

Hawking applied the same notion of singularity to the entire universe, and there he had the ground-breaking discovery about the universe.

A series of Achievements

  • Stephen did path-breaking work on singularities which proved that the universe might have begun in singularity.
  • He co-discovered the four laws of black hole mechanics.
  • His discovery in 1970 threw all the cosmologist’s finding till the date in the air. By using quantum theory and general relativity, he was able to show that black holes can emit radiations, which is now known as Hawking Radiation.
  • In 1974, his name was inducted into the Royal Society, one of the most prestigious bodies of the Scientists. His name sat along Sir Issac Newton and Charles Darwin.
  • He made contributions to the theory of cosmic inflation.
  • In 1988, his book ‘A Brief History of Time’ was published.
  • It was sold about 8 million copies and stayed on the best-seller list for over 4 years and entered into the Guinness book for the record for doing so.
  • In 2002, he was ranked as one of the 100 greatest Britons in BBC poll.

The next finding on black-hole

Initially, it was believed that a black hole can only increase, never decrease in size. It was very obvious since nothing can escape that gets close, it can only swallow more matter and gain mass.

But later it was discovered that black holes emit radiation, (known as Hawking Radiation) and gradually disappears. It was a remarkably important discovery as this result unified the Relativity theory, Quantum Theory and Fermi Dynamics, the unification of 3 concepts in the Physics.

“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,” said Stephen Hawking, the man who was certainly an outlier- who lived for 55 years with a disease which only had an average life-expectancy of 3 years. He defied the odds, not only attained his Ph.D. but also forged new roads into understanding the universe for decades.

About the Author


Ankita Dutta is a STORYWEAVER at BYJU?S. Avid reader and writer by day, a classical singer by night, Harry Potter nerd, a film aficionado, and the classroom joker in her yesteryear. Ankita believes that words can influence to a point where they change personalities and ideologies. Wish to contact her about intriguing debates, writing trends and stories? Drop in a mail to storyweavers@byjus.com

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Comments



Pallavi

April 4, 2018

He is an inspiration for us.


pooja

April 9, 2018

he proved that nothing is impossible !


Anuvrat

April 23, 2018

Inspiring but his views are so general to be challenged easily , but again it’s hard cuz they seem right at the same time .


Aliza

May 6, 2018

He is literally a genius


Aliza

May 6, 2018

He was an extraordinary man.


Anjali Chugh

May 6, 2018

We can’t deny that he opened path for many challenges


Bhumi

May 6, 2018

He was such a inspirational person that made nothing is impossible…he will remain forever in our hearts.?


Sanchi

May 6, 2018

Inspiring. He proved that nothing is impossible if one works with dedication, determination and devotion. Hats off man!!!?


ishwari

May 6, 2018

very very inspiring.


Ranvir Sharma

May 6, 2018

Such a brilliant person who has devoted his life in the field of knowledge and understanding the universe


Aisha

May 6, 2018

I think he is Second name of successful.
He is one of the bst example and inspiration for future of this world.


Raghav

May 6, 2018

Very Inspiring !


Purnima baghel

May 6, 2018

Greatest scientist ever like Einstein and
Worth nobel prize…


Nidhi Mundhada

May 6, 2018

Sir Stephen Hawking undoubtedly proved that circumstances do come in life, but challenging them
and moving forward at the same time is the truth of life…….


Disha patil

May 6, 2018

Stephen Hawking is an inspiration for all of us. Though he had a disease at an early age he did not give up and discovered very interesting things. He is like the God of physics.?


Harsh

May 6, 2018

Sir Stephen Hawking proved that if you have a strong will to achieve a goal
No force can stop you till you achieve your goal


Tushar solanki.

May 6, 2018

A salute to a quite man with a loud mind.He is no more but his ideas are still alive….. Salute ??????.


Krishnendu

May 6, 2018

He is the father of universe,space and time. I believe in his words “there is no need of a God because universe came itself in existence”.


Diptee

May 6, 2018

He was really great, a true inspiration and a big genius…..


Anmol

May 6, 2018

I salute professor Stephen Hawking but I think that EINSTEIN,GALILEO AND STEPHEN HAWKINS ARE CO RELATED WITH EACH OTHER


Sreelakshmi

May 6, 2018

He is very inspiring. I really love his words, “There shall be no boundaries to human endeavour. However bad life may seem, there will be something to succeed at. Where there is life, there is hope.”


Deepu Dev T

May 6, 2018

Unified 3 main concepts in physics,
Relativity
Quantum theory
Fermi dynamics.

Wow.
He was also in search for a completely unified theory.
Which explains the universe in a much better way.


AYUSHI TIWARI

May 6, 2018

Though he was suffering from a disease then to he never thought of taking his steps back
Great scientist great hawing…..


Vibhusnu

May 6, 2018

Stephen Hawking his a great


Krish

May 6, 2018

What an incredible man he is !!!!!


Muskan

May 6, 2018

He is a great inspiration for all of us


AKARSH MISHRA

May 6, 2018

We love you sir Hawking and miss you at this point of science acknowledgence.


Anantraj Saha

May 6, 2018

He should be awarded Nobel Prize not Only for what he discovered but also for his enthusiasm even after his
Illness and hardship of life.


Deepthi

May 6, 2018

He is very inspiring man he is one of my favorite hero


Deeksha Yagnavalkya

May 6, 2018

Awesome facts!!!!!…


Gkukku

May 6, 2018

The man who lived his life without his body but only with his willpower & determination.
When the world cares about looks, he changed the looks of the world.


Raj Krishna Choudhary

May 6, 2018

He is my guru.
It’s hard to find guys like him
Doing research like him is my dream not aim.
RIP Stephen William great hawking


Gautam

May 6, 2018

The one who defied everything… GENIUS!!


Anshuman Rathi

May 6, 2018

He was a great human or a great soul


Sweksha jaiswal

May 6, 2018

He was really amazing!


Utkarsh

May 6, 2018

A man with different thinking more than man a god of knowledge


Sahil Chauhan

May 7, 2018

This is the best app that i have ever use in my life. This app can help me to understand the things easily and simply
this app can make me perfect in the learning….
So, i recommend this app to everyone…..


Suhasini rajan

May 7, 2018

It’s like a science fiction story. It’s really amazing dicovery.I’m
Still wondering


Murtuzaali Surti

May 7, 2018

He was a Real Hero of science!


Priyanshi Jain

May 7, 2018

Lovely. We miss Steven Hawkins. He is the real hero of science


Gayatri

May 7, 2018

He is an all time astrophysicist. He is a very good role model for all
the students


Harsh Prashant Nalgirkar

May 7, 2018

He is one of the most satisfying and very inspirational scientist I have ever known.


Thanmayee

May 7, 2018

He is an inspiration for every physicists


Srihari Iyengar

May 7, 2018

He is a nice guy and has inspiring nature.


Vivek Rana

May 7, 2018

Nice one


Biswajit Kabi

May 7, 2018

Sir, Stephen Hawking devotion towards Physics and his curiosity to know and find different things really inspire us. He will be always remember by the world.


Aditi

May 7, 2018

His works and life are truly inspiring
He is such an inspiration…


VISHMARAJ DEY

May 7, 2018

inspiring and excellent information


Vinita kumari

May 7, 2018

He was not just a great scientist. He was
a genius-hero


Vinita kumari

May 7, 2018

He was not just a great scientist. He was
a genius-hero .His invention were superb.


Vatsal gupta

May 7, 2018

great fact about our genius Hawking and this big universe


Bharath Binu Menon

May 7, 2018

A true symbol of human efficiency and productivity;his fetishism
towards natural sciences and cosmology is unrivalled and undefeated.
Although many of his critics claim his observations as divisive and
blatant he is still a legendary scientist and excellent mathematician.
I am really proud to say that I lived during his era.May God bless his
Soul.

REST IN PEACE GREAT HAWKING!!!


Chandrabala

May 7, 2018

Not for his genius discovery of black holes, he has shown that nothing is impossible if one dares to achieve against all odds


adway

May 7, 2018

A salute to such a genius who made us know about such incredible thing “BLACK HOLE”


Srinidhi

May 7, 2018

An Universal master in physics.


Vikalp shukla

May 7, 2018

Ya thanks byjus to providing us with a such useful and inspiring information.He was one of the greatest scientists of the world.


Deepak

May 7, 2018

Seriously he is an outstanding..


Aasth

May 8, 2018

Truly a genius. One would have given up after such binding medical conditions but not one as determined as he was


Sanjana

May 8, 2018

He overcame all the hard barriers with a point of view of only his aim. A perfect motivation.


Sree parvathy

May 8, 2018

He was not only a legend in the world of physics but for the whole world.. what he did for us is limitless


suriya

May 8, 2018

great man he was


Abhishek Munshi

May 8, 2018

Truly inspiring


shikha sarkar

May 8, 2018

He is literally a genius and he proved that he is an excellent inspiration.


shikha sarkar

May 8, 2018

more than an inspiration


HARSHIGA

May 8, 2018

Always inspiring and gives some motivation which is always immortal


Sundaravadivelu

May 8, 2018

He is a great man of modern times who defied all odds against him.
He is rolemodel for everyone.


Yash Kumar

May 8, 2018

The facts are really amazing which Hawking sir said . He proved that nothing is impossible in this world


Tanvi

May 8, 2018

An example of optimism.
Didn’t let his disabilities disable him.


Samriddhi Singh

May 9, 2018

He was very great and intelligent but also very brave as he worked hard to achieve his goals and gave all of us a message that where there is a will there is a way


Azhak Abad

May 9, 2018

What beautiful life has been spent by him.


Ankit

May 9, 2018

Stephen Hawking was a great scientists after discovering the black hole theory


Ankit

May 9, 2018

This was good explanation of Stephen Hawking


sunny kumar

May 9, 2018

he is one of the great face we had ever on our beautiful planet


Ashlesha Meshram

May 9, 2018

He was called Einstein in his school but he was not really interested in bookish knowledge instead he liked to open clocks and other machines to see how they work.It is really unique and also COOL.Isn’t it?


Tejas r gowda

May 9, 2018

A great personality and a great scientist. RIP Stephen Hawking.


R.akhilesh

May 9, 2018

He is a big inspiration for my ambition


Nithesh

May 9, 2018

He was such a noble person who always deserves a name called “BORN GENIUS”


Nithesh

May 9, 2018

At his end he was noticed all around the world only as a scientist rather than a handicap


Narmatha

May 9, 2018

If hawking can achieve this in a negative health condition we should remember that we can achieve more than this


aromal v k

May 10, 2018

He is an outstanding man who unleashed the mysteries of space and time from his wheelchair.


Janhvi

May 10, 2018

I think u could add more about the book BLACK HOLES
It’s a Stephen Hawking book which I hope many people might not have read
And about Stephen Hawking I don’t have words as he was my ideal and when he died I wore a white dress the whole day


Ananya

May 11, 2018

Even though he is no more, he will live forever in our minds and hearts.


Mudita

May 11, 2018

Thank you BYJU’s for giving us a chance to know about Late Stephen Hawking…… It’s a pleasure to read about him………
Thanks a lot


Abhishek Kumar

May 12, 2018

I like all the blogs


Subashini

May 12, 2018

Thelegend who proved us difficulties have nothing to do with talent…. He crashed the barriers to instill the importance of hard work in our minds….may the maestro rest peacefully in his permanent sleep…..


saritha

May 12, 2018

I have no words to say

he got 19 awards in science and it is a normal thing
definitely he left a path for us to discover more things
though he is not alive, but still he lives in science, which doesn’t has end nor death

M.Prathyush


shivam

May 12, 2018

he proved that there is no god in the universe and a great motivation for us…..


Subham

May 12, 2018

While reading this article I never get bored


Reeta Maria Rexon

May 13, 2018

He was a genius never to be forgotten …


gautham

May 14, 2018

He is something more than a creation because he is a creator


Likhitha

May 14, 2018

He is true inspiration for everyone who really work hard to reach their goals n he has proven nobody is disabled but everyone are specially able… He is a great person


Khushi

May 15, 2018

Disability can never stop us for to be successful if u have determination to do something . it’s really very inspirational


Nandini

May 15, 2018

He was the man who defeated death by the brain


Praise Chandra mouli

May 15, 2018

He was a great personality and I think that he was a great inspiration for all of us.All of us can follow his footsteps to get the success.


Sameera

May 16, 2018

He was the king of physics and will always be??


Manav Mahawar

May 16, 2018

It is destroy the whole Galaxy and it prove that nothing is impossible.


Manav Mahawar

May 16, 2018

It destroys the whole Galaxy. It proves that nothing is impossible.


RISHABH RAJ SINGH

May 16, 2018

He was a genius.


Neha

May 18, 2018

Inspired me a lot
From wheel chair to the beginning of world


Manas

May 18, 2018

He is an inspiration for those who love challenges.
He is an inspiration for those who want to excel in life.


SHREYA CHATTERJEE

May 18, 2018

Thanks for your support its inspiring.


NavyaSree

May 19, 2018

He is the real challenger,motivator and winner


Rishi

May 20, 2018

Till end of his last breath .He fought for the country


Adarsh Goel

May 20, 2018

We will miss you mr. Hawking thank you for all your theories rest in piece thank you for being an inspiration for us!


Saumya Gangwar

May 20, 2018

He’s a man of honor


Amna

May 21, 2018

He was a role model for everyone!


Kevin

May 21, 2018

The great humanity


Chandana

May 22, 2018

He was very inspire to me.


Chandana

May 22, 2018

He was always inspire to me


Chandana

May 22, 2018

He is very inspire to me


Vaibhav

May 22, 2018

A great step further for science.
Where the rules(laws) of physics is in followed.
IS THE,
BLACK HOLE ??


Manamita Datta

May 23, 2018

A legend! A great bow to him! Huge inspiration!!!


Sahishnu

May 23, 2018

He was more than a god


Uditha

May 24, 2018

Such an inspiring story.
Even after being diagnosed with ALS he never backed up.He is an inspiration to all young and old


devamsh

May 24, 2018

awesome


Konika

May 28, 2018

He is a really great scientist.


Konika

May 28, 2018

He is really a great scientist


Falak pathan

May 30, 2018

My favourite scientist


Anushka

June 2, 2018

He was truly a great man with great mind,I love reading his theories
about space as they are so amazing and interesting.He overvomed his
illness when he was declared to be terminally ill.He is a great
motivation and a brilliant scientist.Even though he was physically
challenged he became world’s one of the most successful scientists.


Priyanshi Jain

June 6, 2018

He is miraculous.


Megha Unnikrishnan

July 7, 2018

He is a very miraculous person with determination and courage who battled the odds and hurdles in his life.His story is an inspirational one.


Mohammad Abbas

October 13, 2018

Nice collection


Geetanjali

May 31, 2019

He is Inspirational for students


Astha Verma

September 1, 2019

Hawking is an extraordinary human ( don’t correct it he will live forever)?


Abhimanyu.R.B

July 3, 2020

He is an inspiration for the youth showing that nothing is impossible.


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