LIFE AND WORK OF STEPHEN HAWKING - Fsb
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Doktorski studij na FSB: Uvod u znanstveno istraživački rad 2019/2020
iPetra Adamović
LIFE AND WORK OF STEPHEN HAWKING
UDC
Essay
Summary
Professor Stephen William Hawking (8th of January 1942 – 14th of March 2018) was an
English theoretical physicist, cosmologist and author, but unlike most scientific minds, he
participated in movie making and writing children’s books. Most people remember him as a
great scientist of our age placed in an electrical wheelchair with a funny computer voice
instead of his own, but in the world of engineers and scientists, he is known for his ground-
breaking work in physics and cosmology whose books helped to make science accessible to
practically anyone.
Key words: Stephen Hawking; physics, cosmology, black holes; singularity theorem;
quantum mechanics; general relativity
1. Introduction
Professor Stephen studied time from the perspective of Einstens’s theory of gravitation,
the general theory of relativity. One of his early achievements was proving that time had a
beginning – that the laws of physics as we now understand them must have broken down very
early in the history of universe, at the Big Bang. [1] According to the standard Big Bang
model, the universe was born during a period of inflation that began about 13.8 billion years
ago. Like a rapidly expanding balloon, it swelled from a size smaller than an electron to
nearly its current size within a tiny fraction of a second. Initially, the universe was permeated
only by energy. Some of this energy congealed into particles, which assembled into light
atoms like hydrogen and helium. These atoms clumped first into galaxies, then stars, where
all the other elements were forged. [2]
Professor Stephen also greatly advanced our understanding of black holes, where
gravitational forces are so strong that time comes to an end. He argued forcefully that travel
backward in time is disallowed by the laws of physics, which (as he put it) “makes the world
safe for historians”. [1] It is no surprise that professor Stephen had a great sense of humour
and sarcasm, which can be seen in this quote.
2. Biography
Stephen Hawking was born on 8th of January in Oxford, England. He was an English
theoretical physicist, cosmologist and author who was director of research at the Centre of
Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge at the time of his death. He vas the
Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge between 1979 and 2009.
Petra Adamović Life and work of Stephen Hawking
Stephen’s both parents, Isobel and Frank, attended the University of Oxford, where Frank
read medicine and Isobel Philosophy, politics and economics.[3]
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). 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 14th of March at the age of 76, after living with the disease more
than 50 years. [3]
Fig. 1. Stephen Hawking's speech-generating device [4]
Stephen met his future wife Jane Wilde, at a party in 1962. They married in 1964 and
became parents of three children: Robert, Lucy and Timothy. Stephen’s disabilities meant that
the responsibilities of home and family rested firmly on his wife’s overwhelmed shoulders,
leaving him to think about physics. In that time, Jane began a PhD programme through
Westfield College in medieval Spanish poetry which she completed in 1981. Jane felt
overwhelmed by the intrusion into their family of the required nurses and assistants.
Stephen’s views of religion also contrasted with her strong Christian faith and also added
tension into their marriage. [3] One of his nurses, Elaine Mason, he grew extremely close to.
That resulted in divorcing Jane and leaving the house with Elaine. He later said on his
marriage with Elaine: “It’s wonderful – I have married the woman I love.” In 2006, Stephen
and Elaine divorced, and he reunited with his children, grandchildren and Jane.
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Fig. 2. Stephen and Jane Hawking [5]
Professor Hawking received numerous awards and honours. Already early in the list,
in 1974 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. [3] He also received the 2015 BBVA
Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Basic Sciences and at the 2016 Pride of Britain
Awards where he received the lifetime achievement award “for his contribution to science and
British culture”. He is also an owner of the Order of the Companions of Honour and the Most
Excellent Order of the British Empire.
Fig. 3. The Order of the Companions of Honour [6] Fig. 4. The Most Excellent Order of the British
Empire [7]
3. A Brief History of Time
Professor Stephen published a book in 1988 called A Brief History of Time. The book
became a bestseller and sold more than 10 million copies in 20 years (by 2001). [8] In that
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Petra Adamović Life and work of Stephen Hawking
book, which was one of the first book I read other than required readings in high school and
elementary school, professor Stephen explained the most complex concepts and ideas of
physics, such as space, time, black holes, planets, stars and gravity to the average Joe, so that
even you and I can better understand how our planet was created, where it came from, and
where it’s going. [9]
3.1 Chapter Ten: Wormholes and Time Travel
In this subchapter, I will present a summary of one of the chapters from the mentioned
book which I personally liked. In this particular chapter, professor tackles the exciting
possibilities at the core of science fiction – wormholes that can tunnel a spaceship from one
point at a vast distance to another, and the possibilities of time travel. However, Hawking also
points out that in order to make time travel a possibility, the curvature of the universe would
have to be bent inward rather than convex. This means that time-travel engineers would have
to find some way to warp local regions of space-time to allow it to happen. [10]
Fig. 5. Wormhole [11]
If one could travel in a wormhole, it might send the traveller not only to a distance
place in the galaxy but also permit travel back into the past. A more advanced system of
technology would be needed to keep a wormhole open long enough to permit passage
because, as soon as an object enters one, there is a good chance that the entry of an object will
have the effect of collapsing it. [10]
Hawking continues with discussions of various paradoxes posed by the possibility of
time travel, finding a possible resolution in the alternative history hypothesis. This hypothesis
suggests there is not just one universe but actually multiple ones. Thus, supposing one could
travel back in time, any changes to history would affect a separate universe from the one the
traveller came from. Hawking explores the possibilities for time travel, using Richard
Feynmann’s sum over histories approach and quantum theory. He discusses how quantum
mechanics allows, theoretically, for time travel of microscopic particles. But, as mentioned in
the Introduction part of this essay, large-scale time travel (usable by humans) appears to be
forceclosed for now by what Hawking calls the chronology protection conjecture. [10]
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4. Children’s books and movies
It is not uncommon for famous authors of “adult” literature to have also penned lesser
known but no less lovely children’s books. Famous scientists, on the other hand, are more
likely to become the subject of a children’s book rather than the author of one. But not so with
Stephen Hawking. [12] There is a number of kids’ books about Stephen Hawking, as well as a
young adult science fiction series Hawking wrote with his daughter, Lucy.
4.1 George’s Secret Key to the Universe
With his daughter Lucy, Stephen Hawking wrote a series of young adult science fiction
books. The first book in their series, George’s Secret Key to the Universe, introduces readers
aged 8 to 12 to the world of a scientist named George, his daughter, and a supercomputer
named Cosmos. In his second book of his series called George’s Cosmic Treasure Hunt,
Hawking takes young readers on an adventure through space that travels the expanse of a
heartfelt friendship. In the third instalment, the scientist and his pals take on enemies while
getting the most exciting moment in the universe – the very start of it all. The fourth book has
protagonists George and Annie “off on another cosmic adventure to figure out why strange
things are happening on Earth”. The fifth book was published in November 2017, a mere four
months before Hawking’s death. No word yet if there are future George’s Secret Key
manuscripts from Stephen and Lucy Hawking that might be published posthumously. [13]
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Petra Adamović Life and work of Stephen Hawking
Fig. 6. Figure 6. George's Secret Fig. 7. George's Cosmic Treasure Fig. 8. George and the Big Bang
Key to the Universe [13] Hunt [13] [13]
Fig. 9. George and the Unbreakable Code [13] Fig. 10. George and the Blue Moon [13]
4.2 The Theory of Everything
While being such an interesting, genius and creative individual, it is not strange to expect
Professor Stephen Hawking in a movie which is dedicated to bringing his life closer to his
followers and audience. The movie The Theory of Everything is the story of Stephen and Jane
he fell in love whilst studying at Cambridge in the 1960s. Little was expected from Stephen
Hawking, a bright but shiftless student of cosmology, given just two years to live following
the diagnosis of a fatal illness at 21 years of age. He became galvanized, however, by the love
of fellow Cambridge student, Jane Wilde, he went on to be called the successor to Einstein, as
Stephen’s body collapsed and his academic renown soared, fault lines were exposed that
tested the lineaments of their relationship and dramatically altered the course of both their
lives. [14]
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Fig. 11. A scene from the movie The Theory of Everything, actor Eddie Redmayne as professor Stephen
Hawking [14]
5. Conclusion
After this short essay, one couldn’t doubt that professor Stephen Hawking is indeed one
of the pinnacle examples of a creative individual. Not only did he mark a significant step
forward in today’s understanding of time and space, cosmology, physics and engineering in
general, but with his enormous aura of creativity, he pushed that scientific boundaries and
took a step further. He wrote children’s books and books to make his work understandable for
everyone who would like to know answers to the questions like: “Where and when did the
Big Bang happened?”, “Is time travel possible?”, “Is the universe ever going to collapse?” et
cetera. He was an inspiration to a Hollywood movie and many more who followed his work.
I would like to finish this essay with an open question that Stephen had posed on the
Internet in 2006. The question was: “In a world that is in chaos politically, socially and
environmentally, how can the human race sustain another 100 years?”. He later clarified: “I
don’t know the answer. That is why I asked the question, to get people to think about it, and
to be aware of the dangers we now face.” [3] Unfortunately, I myself cannot provide an
answer either. The only thing I am certain about is that creativity will play an important role
in solving this problem.
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Petra Adamović Life and work of Stephen Hawking
REFERENCES
[1] Remembering Stephen Hawking’s greatest scientific accomplishment, https://time.com/5201371/stephen-
hawking-john-preskill-obituary/
[2] How did the Universe begin?, https://www.livescience.com/65819-how-did-the-universe-begin.html
[3] Stephen Hawking, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hawking
[4] How did Stephen Hawking’s communication system work?,
https://www.scienceabc.com/innovation/stephen-hawking-cheek-communication-help-computer-speech-
generating-device.html
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrV_KBsiUTs
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Companions_of_Honour
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_British_Empire
[8] A Brief History of time, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Brief_History_of_Time
[9] A Brief History of time Summary, https://fourminutebooks.com/a-brief-history-of-time-summary/
[10] Chapter 10: Wormholes and Time Travel, https://www.coursehero.com/lit/A-Brief-History-of-
Time/chapter-10-summary/
[11] https://medium.com/predict/how-to-spot-a-wormhole-de99bee71034
[12] https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/01/08/stephen-hawking-childrens-book/
[13] https://redtri.com/stephen-hawking-books-for-kids-who-love-space-science/slide/9
[14] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2980516/plotsummary
[15] https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiDqveO57_mAhWK-
6QKHXELCsAQjhx6BAgBEAI&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.empireonline.com%2Fmovies%2Ftheory
-everything%2F&psig=AOvVaw0m8-fTkUNwaL93rkKnULm9&ust=1576779364969498
Defined: 9.12.2019. Petra Adamović, petra.adamovic0812@gmail.com
Sveučilište u Zagrebu, Fakultet strojarstva i
Delivered 18.12.2019. brodogradnje
Ivana Lučića 5
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