Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking (1942-2018) was a British scientist, professor and author who performed groundbreaking work in physics and cosmology, and whose books helped to make science accessible to everyone.Hawking studied physics at University College, Oxford (B.A.), and Trinity Hall, Cambridge (Ph.D.).

Hawking suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and was confined to an electric wheelchair for much of his adult life. He continued to work despite the disease’s progressively disabling effects.

A Cambridge University professor, Hawking redefined cosmology by proposing that black holes emit radiation and later evaporate.

In 1971, Hawking proposed the area theorem, which set off a series of fundamental insights about black hole mechanics. The theorem predicts that the total area of a black hole’s event horizon — and all black holes in the universe, for that matter — should never decrease.

He also showed that the universe had a beginning by describing how Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity eventually breaks down when time and space are traced back to the Big Bang about 13.7 billion years ago.

Hawking applied quantum theory – governing the subatomic world – to black holes, which he claimed discharge radiation that causes them to disappear.

Black holes are formed when a massive star collapses under the weight of its own gravity. Detected by the movement of surrounding matter, they devour everything in their path and may play a role in the birth of galaxies.

Hawking’s work greatly spurred efforts to theoretically delineate the properties of black holes, objects about which it was previously thought that nothing could be known.

His work was also important because it showed these properties’ relationship to the laws of classical thermodynamics and quantum mechanics.

More of Stephen Hawking’s research and theories can be found at https://www.biography.com/scientists/stephen-hawking and https://www.space.com/15923-stephen-hawking.html.