Modern science has today said goodbye to one of its great minds, the British physicist Stephen HawkingHis family was the one who told the world that the scientist had died. “We are deeply saddened by the passing of our father today,” said his three children, Lucy, Robert, and Tim, in a statement released early Wednesday morning, March 14, 2018.
The causes of his death have not been specified, but Stephen Hawking suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis since he was 22.And although doctors only gave him two years to live, the physicist lived for 54 more years. Although the disease left him wheelchair-bound and unable to speak without the aid of a voice synthesizer, he achieved his goal.“To demonstrate that people should not be limited by physical disabilities, as long as their spirit is not handicapped.”
Hawking, a brilliant mind
His full name is Stephen William Hawking and he was born in Oxford on January 8, 1942. He is the eldest son of the prestigious biologist Frank Hawking and Isobel Walker, who had arrived in the university city fleeing the German bombings of London.
Although he was not an outstanding student at St Albans, London, his classmates He was nicknamed "Einstein" for his ease in understanding science.He enrolled in mathematics and physics at Oxford in 1959, studies he found so easy that, by his own calculations, he passed with just 1,000 hours of study: one a day.
It was cosmology that truly attracted him, the great question of the origin of the universe. He devoted his postgraduate studies at Cambridge University to this. In 1963, a year after graduating, he was diagnosed with the disease.
A pivotal moment in his life was his marriage to Jane Wilde, a philology student, from whom he had three children. This marriage lasted until 1990. His most famous discovery scientist It was the phenomenon that would become known as Hawking radiation., through which black holes release energy until they disappear.
An indomitable spirit
It was the strength with which he held on to the world despite his illness that earned him recognition in the scientific world. Hawking became a cult figure for the general public.Part of its popularity also comes from his idea that science would one day discover “the theory of everything,” which he would explore in his book A Brief History of Time.
In 1985, pneumonia worsened his health, forcing him to breathe through a tube. He was never able to use his voice again. The physicist managed to communicate thanks to an electronic device, a voice synthesizer, which allowed him to overcome the silence. Stephen Hawking's robotic voice became part of his legend.
Stephen Hawking He traveled to all continents, including Antarctica. He won several awards, including the Borders of Knowledge of the BBVA Foundation in 2016, although the Nobel Prize eluded him.
It became an icon of popular culture today.Hawking appeared several times on The Big Bang Theory, of which he declared himself a fan, and was given a role on The Simpsons. He celebrated his 60th birthday high in a hot air balloon. Five years later, he experienced zero gravity aboard a Boeing 727. There were no physical limits that could stop his spirit, thanks so much Hawking!
Image: Google Images
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