Stephen Hawking dies aged 76



Media caption Nick Higham looks back at Professor Stephen Hawking's life
World renowned physicist Stephen Hawking has died at the age of 76.

He died peacefully at his home in Cambridge in the early hours of Wednesday, his family said.

The Briton was known for his work with black holes and relativity, and wrote several popular science books including A Brief History of Time.

At the age of 22 Prof Hawking was given only a few years to live after being diagnosed with a rare form of motor neurone disease.

• Obituary: Stephen Hawking

The illness left him in a wheelchair and largely unable to speak except through a voice synthesiser.

Image copyrightBBC/RICHARD ANSETT
In a statement his children, Lucy, Robert and Tim, said: "We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today.

"He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years."

They praised his "courage and persistence" and said his "brilliance and humour" inspired people across the world.

"He once said, 'It would not be much of a universe if it wasn't home to the people you love.' We will miss him forever."

Image copyrightBBC/PA
Image captionStephen Hawking was portrayed on TV and film by Benedict Cumberbatch and Eddie Redmayne
Prof Hawking was the first to set out a theory of cosmology as a union of relativity and quantum mechanics.

He also discovered that black holes leak energy and fade to nothing - a phenomenon that would later become known as Hawking radiation.

Through his work with mathematician Sir Roger Penrose he demonstrated that Einstein's General Theory of Relativity implies space and time would have a beginning in the Big Bang and an end in black holes.

The scientist gained popularity outside the academic world and appeared in several TV shows including The Simpsons, Red Dwarf and The Big Bang Theory.



He was portrayed in both TV and film - recently by Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything, which charted his rise to fame and relationship with his first wife, Jane.

Factfile: Stephen Hawking

• Born 8 January 1942 in Oxford, England
• Earned place at Oxford University to read natural science in 1959, before studying for his PhD at Cambridge
• By 1963, was diagnosed with motor neurone disease and given two years to live
• Outlined his theory that black holes emit "Hawking radiation" in 1974
• Published his book A Brief History of Time in 1988, which has sold more than 10 million copies
• His life story was the subject of the 2014 film The Theory of Everything, starring Eddie Redmayne

Source: BBC

 

Sad news, may you rest in peace Mr. Hawkins

 

RIP
His voice was used by Pink Floyd several times.
Chronologie is an album by J.M.Jarre that was based on book A Brief History of Time

 

Last edited: Mar 14, 2018

R.I.P.

 

R.I.P. He was one of the people to whom I owe my ideas about life and the universe. I've read the classic A brief history of time many times, although I did not understand it completely, especially the last two chapters. It seems that his dream about the theory of everything and the final equation of the universe did not come true during his lifetime, but string theory / M-theory looks very promising. Only time will tell. We'll miss you, old friend!

 

If one believes that energy can neither be created nor destroyed but only is transformed from one form to another, than good old Stephen's will be around for a relatively long time. RIP.

 

Very sad
He was a light in darkness

 

The world has lost some IQ points. Very sad.

 

He will be in interstellar paradise

 

Sad day.

 

At last he is free.Rest now my friend you deserve it

 

a little tribute from Tony Padilla... from years ago upon Hawking winning the $3 million Milner Special Fundamental Physics Prize

 

Last edited by a moderator: Mar 14, 2018

R.I.P Steven, The Universe will miss you

 

Rest In Peace.

 

R.I.P

 

In my song "Traces" I paid tribute to several explorers and scientists incl. him. Great loss for mankind...RiP

 

“For my ally is the force.
And a powerful ally it is.
Life creates it, makes it grow.
Its energy surrounds us and binds us.
Luminous beings are we,
Not this crude matter.
You must feel the force around you.”

“Death is a natural part of life.
Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force.
Mourn them do not. Miss them do not.
Attachment leads to jealousy.
The shadow of greed that is.”

“Train yourself to let go... of everything you fear to lose.” (Yoda's Quotes)

In fact, I'm glad Stephen Hawking was rested. Despite all the good humor and the great exposure that he had in mass media, only he and the closest people knew how difficult it was to face Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis over the years. Your legacy will persist through his unique deeds, an inspiration to us all! Now he's one with the force!

 

Last edited: Mar 14, 2018

Died?? Whaaat??
No way: people like Hawking can’t die
He just moved to Alpha Centauri