Stephen Hawking and his work - what the scientist gave to humanity.

Known not only in scientific circles. Many compare him to outstanding scientists such as Einstein and Newton. Hawking deals with issues of theoretical physics and applied mathematics, the theory of space and time, and studies the fundamental laws that move the Universe. Stephen is a very influential scientist of our time; he heads the department at the University of Cambridge.

But Stephen Hawking's story is one of constant overcoming incurable disease, which accompanies him almost his entire adult life. This one was able to implement limitless possibilities human mind, suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Brief biography of the scientist

Stephen William Hawking was born on January 8, 1942 into a middle-class family. However, his parents were Oxford graduates and were considered intellectuals. Stephen was an ordinary child, only at the age of 8 he learned to read. He studied well at school, but was no different from his peers.

Having felt an interest in physics in high school, he entered the physics department at Oxford, where he showed little zeal for his studies, devoting more time to sports and parties. Despite all this, he managed to graduate from the university in 1962 with a bachelor's degree. Stephen remained at Oxford for some time and studied sunspots, but later decided to go to Cambridge. There he studied theoretical astronomy.

Stephen Hawking's illness began to make itself felt already during his enrollment at Cambridge University. And in 1963 young man A disappointing diagnosis was made - amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

What is ALS?

This chronic disease central nervous system which is slowly progressing. It is characterized by damage to the cortex and brain stem, as well as neurons in the spinal cord responsible for movement. Patients develop paralysis and then atrophy of all muscles.

Stephen Hawking's disease in Europe for a long time it was customary to name it after the scientist Charcot, who described its symptoms in the mid-19th century. In the United States, the disease is often referred to as Hering's disease in memory of the popular basketball player who died of ALS.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is quite rare disease. Out of 100 thousand people, only one to five suffer from it. Most often people between 40 and 50 years old get sick. Stephen Hawking's disease, the cause of which is unknown, is incurable. Science still doesn’t understand why death starts nerve cells. Heredity plays a role in about 10% of cases.

However, in the early 2000s, researchers suggested that ALS is associated with a buildup of neurotransmitter molecules in the brain. Some evidence suggests that this disease develops due to excess glutamic acid, which causes neurons to work at full capacity and therefore die quickly. Currently, the search for genes responsible for the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is actively underway. Even taking into account what is being done great job According to the search for a cure for this disease, the mortality rate from it is 100%.

Signs and course of the disease

Stephen Hawking's disease, the symptoms of which can easily be confused with the manifestation of other, less dangerous ailments, is very insidious. At first, a person feels mild muscle disorders (most often in the arms). This is expressed in difficulty, for example, writing, fastening buttons, picking up small objects.

Afterwards, the disease begins to progress, and in the process, the spinal cord gradually die, and along with them the areas of the brain that control voluntary movements. As a result, more and more muscles find themselves without movement, not receiving impulses from the brain.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is so named because the neurons that carry impulses to the muscles of the body are located laterally throughout the spinal cord.

Quite often in the early stages of the disease there are difficulties with speech and swallowing. In the later stages, a person is completely deprived of movement, his face loses facial expressions, the muscles of the tongue atrophy, and drooling appears. However, he does not experience any pain.

Stephen Hawking's disease, although terrible because it leaves him paralyzed, does not impair his thought processes. Memory, hearing, vision, consciousness, cognitive functions of the brain remain at the same level.

What is the cause of death in patients with ALS?

In the final stages of the disease, the muscles of the respiratory tract also atrophy, as a result of which the person cannot breathe. Although it also happens that the body is not yet completely immobilized, the muscles that are used during breathing cease to function.

Stephen Hawking's life with ALS

Despite the terrible diagnosis, Stephen continued his active life. However, the symptoms of the disease made themselves felt. And after another deterioration, Hawking went to the hospital for examination, where he was told the terrible news that he had no more than two years to live. After this news, any person would fall into depressive state, Stephen was no exception. But the thirst to live won, and he began writing his dissertation. Hawking suddenly realized that there was still time to do something worthwhile, something useful for the whole world.

Stephen Hawking's illness did not prevent him from marrying Jane Wilde in 1965, although he came to his wedding with a cane. His wife knew about the terrible diagnosis, but decided to devote her entire life to her chosen one, caring for him, while he could work fruitfully, being engaged in scientific activities. They lived together for more than 20 years, and three children were born in the marriage. Thanks to Jane, Stephen trained constantly, even while half paralyzed.

But living with a person suffering from ALS is very difficult. Therefore, in the early 90s, the couple divorced. However, Hawking was not alone for long. He married his nurse. This marriage lasted 11 years.

Scientific activities

Stephen William Hawking, whose illness progressed along with his scientific career, defended his dissertation in 1966, and the next year he moved no longer with a cane, but on crutches. After a successful defense, he began working at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, as a research fellow.

It had to be used since 1970, but despite this, from 1973 to 1879 Hawking worked at the University of Cambridge at the Faculty of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, where in 1977 he became a professor.

Physicist Stephen Hawking from 1965 to 1970 conducted research on the state of the Universe at the time of the Big Bang. In 1970, he studied the theory of black holes and formulated several theories. As a result, he made enormous contributions to cosmology and astronomy, as well as to the understanding of gravity and the theory of black holes. Thanks to his fruitful work, Hawking became the owner of a large number of awards and prizes.

Until 1974, the scientist could eat on his own, as well as get up and go to bed. Some time later, illness forced students to seek help, but subsequently they had to hire a professional nurse.

Stephen Hawking quickly lost the ability to write due to atrophy of the arm muscles. I had to solve complex problems and equations, build and visualize graphs in my head. The scientist’s speech apparatus also suffered; he was understood only by close people and those who often communicated with him. Despite this, Stephen dictated scientific works secretary and gave lectures, but, however, with the help of an interpreter.

Writing books

The scientist decided to popularize science and in the 1980s began working on a book called “ Brief History time." It explained the nature of matter, time and space, the theory of black holes and the Big Bang. The author avoided complex mathematical terms and equations, hoping that ordinary people the book will be interesting. And so it happened. Stephen never expected his work to become so popular. In 2005, Hawking wrote a second book and gave it the title " Brief history time." She's dedicated latest achievements in the field of theoretical astronomy.

Communication with the outside world using technology

In 1985, Hawking fell ill with pneumonia. Stephen was completely speechless due to the forced tracheotomy. Caring people saved the scientist from silence. It was developed for him computer program, which allows you to use a lever to select words shown on the monitor using a lever and compose phrases from them, which are ultimately sent to Communicate with people via computer equipment significantly improved the life of a scientist. It also became possible to translate physics equations that were written in words using the equalizer into symbols. Now Stephen learned to give lectures on his own, but they had to be prepared in advance and sent to a speech synthesizer.

After muscle atrophy completely immobilized the scientist’s limbs, an infrared sensor was placed in his glasses. This allows you to select letters with your eyes.

Conclusion

Despite his serious illness, Stephen William Hawking remains very active at 73 years old. Many would envy him healthy people. He often travels, gives interviews, writes books, tries to popularize science, and makes plans for the future. The professor's dream was to travel to spaceship. The disease taught him not to spare himself, because it is not so favorable to many. He believes that he lived so long thanks to mental work and excellent care.

It can be said that the story of Stephen Hawking is an example of the enormous hard work and courage that only a select few possess.

On March 14, 2018, in the morning, the famous physicist and popularizer of science Stephen Hawking died. The scientist studied cosmology and quantum gravity. We tell in simple language about Hawking's major discoveries that changed science.

Classmates

Hawking radiation

Hawking developed the theory that black holes “evaporate” due to special radiation, which was later named after him.

Before this discovery, scientists believed that blacks did not emit anything, but only absorbed. He proved that black holes are not completely black, as they emit residual radiation.

Hawking also concludes that black holes do not exist forever: they emit increasingly strong winds and, in the end, disappear as a result of a giant explosion.

Einstein never accepted quantum mechanics because of the element of randomness and uncertainty associated with it. He said: God doesn't play dice. It looks like Einstein was wrong twice. The quantum effect of a black hole suggests that God not only plays dice, but sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen. Stephen Hawking.
The universe created itself

This Hawking theory is devoted to the creation of the universe, which, according to the scientist, did not have a beginning or the very moment of creation. The scientist suggested that there is another direction in which time moves (not just forward or backward), and put forward a theory about imaginary time, for which there are no concepts of “beginning” or “end” at all.

Hawking was a convinced atheist. Here is his quote on this topic:

Because there is such a force as gravity, the Universe could and did create itself out of nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason why the Universe exists, why we exist. There is no need for God to “light” the fire and make the Universe work. Stephen Hawking.
The universe is expanding

Until the 20th century, it was believed that the Universe was eternal and unchanging. Hawking accessible language proved that this is not so.

Light from distant galaxies is shifted towards the red part of the spectrum. This means that they are moving away from us, that the Universe is expanding. Stephen Hawking.
Quarks are never alone

Quarks - elementary particles, which make up protons and neutrons. Hawking proved that they only exist in groups and never alone. The force that binds quarks increases as the distance between them increases. If you try to pull one quark away from another, they will only greater strength will be attracted.
Universe compression theory

Hawking thought about what would happen when the Universe stopped expanding and began to contract. Will time go the other way?

It seemed to me that when the compression began, the Universe would return to an ordered state. In this case, with the beginning of compression, time should have turned back. People in this stage would live their lives backwards and get younger as the Universe shrinks. Stephen Hawking.

This process is shown in the film "Mr. Nobody" with Jared Leto in leading role.

Attempts to create mathematical model This theory failed, but it remains popular. The Universe has only two options: either infinite expansion or contraction.
There are a huge number of Universes

It's about about M-theory, which Hawking developed with Leonard Mlodinow. M-theory is an offshoot of string theory. According to this theory, at the smallest level, all particles consist of branes - multidimensional membranes, the properties of which can explain absolutely all processes occurring in our Universe.

As noted NTV correspondent Alexey Kondulukov, a man who could not speak for many years, after all. “We are just the evolved descendants of apes on a small planet with an unremarkable star. But we have a chance to comprehend the Universe. This is what makes us special,” said one of the most special people. A man who personified the power of thought. Conquering the stars, overcoming circumstances that would make anyone despair, fatal disease, on for many years chained him to a wheelchair.

Stephen Hawking: “The prospect of dying early made me realize that life is worth living.”

Stephen Hawking was born in 1942 in Oxford, graduated from the university there at the age of 20 and did research at Cambridge. He studied and taught astronomy, gravitational physics and mathematics. It became one of the largest modern scientists already after doctors discovered he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at the age of 21. Doctors gave him only a few years to live, but he lived for more than 50 years, and what years! He wrote several books about the structure of the Universe, traveled all over the world with lectures, developed the theory of black holes and the origin of the Universe as a result of the big bang. If many people have not read “A Brief History of Time” by Stephen Hawking, millions have heard the title of the book.

Stephen Hawking: “There is nothing bigger and older than the Universe. There are a few issues about her that I would like to talk about. First. Where did we come from? How was the existence of the Universe possible? Are we alone in the Universe? Is there extraterrestrial life? What is the future of the human race?

He was completely paralyzed, with only one facial muscle in his cheek moving, but with the help of a sensor attached to it, Hawking was able to communicate with the world through a speech synthesizer and control a computer, which allowed him to write. In astrophysics, Hawking theorized that low-mass black holes lose energy and emit energy, called Hawking radiation.

“If you feel like you're in a black hole, don't give up. There is a way out,” he answered with humor, and this humor, all-conquering optimism made him perhaps the most famous scientist after Einstein, the hero of books, television films and even cartoons “The Simpsons” and a cameo in “Star Trek.” Four years ago about him early years was removed feature film“The Theory of Everything,” nominated for an Oscar and won many international awards. The outstanding popularizer of science, Stephen Hawking, turned his life into a bestseller; with his speeches and his example, he gave millions of people hope, even where there seemed to be none. Ultimately, hope for all humanity.

Stephen Hawking: "I'm not sure human race will live at least another thousand years if he does not find an opportunity to escape into space. There are many scenarios for how all life on a small planet can die. But I'm an optimist. We will definitely reach the stars."

This English scientist - shining example that even terrible disease It's not a hindrance if you really want something. Contrary to the diagnosis and predictions of doctors, Hawking became one of the most revolutionary scientists of the 20th century.

Family and childhood

Hawking's parents had higher education, both graduated from Oxford University: his father studied medicine there, and his mother studied politics, philosophy and economics. They met after the start of World War II at a medical research institute, where their mother was a secretary and their father a researcher. During the war they lived in London, but when the city began to be bombed, they moved back to Oxford (there was a condition between the German and English armies: not to shell scientific centers, which were located in Cambridge and Oxford). The future scientist was born there. After the end of the war, the parents returned to the capital of Great Britain, settling in the Highgate area.

Besides Stephen, his parents had three more children: two younger daughters and son Edward, who was adopted when Stephen was 14 years old.

When he was little, Stephen didn't get along well with children. When he was two and a half, his parents decided that it was time for the boy to go to kindergarten, but on the very first day everything ended in hysterics: Stephen did not want and did not know how to play with other people's children. For the next year and a half, my mother took care of it, oh kindergarten the conversation started only when his younger sister was born.

At school, Stephen also didn’t have much luck making friends with the kids: the boy was quiet and shy. But he saved the situation best friend, living next door - Howard. Surprisingly different, well-mannered Stephen and daredevil Howard were friends and spent a lot of time together. Howard even started teaching Steven to play football, but he was still not interested in the sport.

When Stephen was eight, his parents bought a house in the town of St. Albans, where they soon moved. There Stephen was sent to former school for girls, in which after the war classes for boys also appeared. But in new school Stephen had barely completed a semester when his father went on a long business trip to Africa, so his mother took her three children and went to live with friends in Mallorca. There Stephen studied with a private teacher who taught school curriculum mother's friend's children.

Returning to St. Albans, the boy was sent to a regular school. Despite the fact that Stephen’s academic performance was not stellar, his classmates gave him the nickname “Einstein,” probably because he was most concerned about the origin of the Universe.

IN last grades high school Stephen became interested in physics and mathematics, deciding to continue in this direction, which his father did not really like. He saw his son's future in medicine. But Steven was attracted to physics most of all; he still did not give up his desire to get to the bottom of the origin of all living things. Therefore, the seventeen-year-old school graduate entered Oxford, and in order to make friends with fellow students, he signed up for rowing.

In 1962, Hawking already had a bachelor's degree, and three years later he also graduated from the University of Cambridge with the title of Doctor of Philosophy.

Sudden illness and scientific breakthrough

During his final year at Oxford, Stephen noticed that he was having problems coordinating his movements. Having consulted a doctor, he received half-joking advice to drink less.

While already a student at Cambridge, he once fell while skating and could not get up. His mother took him to the family doctor, who advised him to undergo a full examination. The diagnosis came out like a bolt from the blue: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Doctors gave 21-year-old Stephen no more than two years to live.

However, even his progressive illness did not stop him from working. In 1965, Hawking became a researcher at the University of Cambridge. He worked at the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy, as well as the Institute of Astronomy, and taught at the departments of physics and mathematics.

At the end of the 1960s, his health deteriorated sharply - he could no longer move independently, so he moved to a wheelchair.

And even this did not stop him from working hard on his theories about the origin of the Universe.

Already at the age of 29 he developed his first scientific theory about black holes, assuming that there are very small copies of them, about the size of a proton.

In 1974 he was accepted into the Royal Society of London, thanks to his developments on the topic of thermodynamics in the description of black holes.

The following year, he presented to the scientific council his theory about the evaporation of black holes as a result of a previously unknown phenomenon, which came to be called “Hawking radiation.”

In 1977, Stephen became a professor of gravitational physics, and two years later - mathematics.

In 1985, Hawking suffered from pneumonia; due to complications, doctors had to perform a tracheotomy on him, and the scientist lost the ability to speak. Fortunately, his scientist friends found a way out for his brilliant mind - they developed a speech synthesizer that could be controlled literally with the movement of one finger. Although in fact, in the case of Hawking, everything is controlled by the only facial muscle that remains mobile in the scientist. There is a sensor attached to it that reacts to movements.

Hawking was one of the first to propose the theory that black holes are peculiar tunnels to parallel universes. He also scientifically proved the possibility of the existence of time machines and aliens.

Literary and educational activities

Hawking understands that science is not only for university professors, so he is engaged in its popularization. In 1988, his first book appeared, “A Brief History of Time,” which has already gone through dozens of reprints.

Five years later the next one came out - “Black Holes and Young Universes”, in 2001 - “The World in a Nutshell”.

13 years after the release of the first book, Stephen finalized it with another scientist, Leonard Mlodinow, and this is how “The Shortest History of Time” appeared.

Hawking did not ignore the youngest future researchers. Together with their daughter Lucy, they have already written three books about the travels of the fictional character George. In these books, they explain the basics of physics and astronomy to young minds. The first to be released in 2006 was “George and the Secrets of the Universe.”

Since 1997, the scientist also became the host of the popular science series “Stephen Hawking’s Universe,” and in 2010 another three-part series “Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking” was released. In 2014, filming of “Stephen Hawking's Future Science” began.

Family and children, views of the world

At 23, Stephen got married. His wife was Jane Wilde. The marriage lasted almost 30 years, although they had already lived apart for the last five. Stephen has three children with Jane.

His second wife was American Elaine Mason, who was his nurse. They married in 1995 and divorced in 2006.

Stephen does not hide the fact that he is an atheist. He is also among the 1,300 scientists who signed a petition against teaching school subjects through the lens of creationism, that is, the theory that the world was created by God.

In 2009, Hawking was preparing to fly into space, but the project was cancelled.

In 2014, the film “Stephen Hawking” was released. The Theory of Everything." The script was written based on the book by Hawking's first wife. They came to the premiere together for the first time in many years.

In 2015, the Stephen Hawking Medal appeared at the Royal Society of Scientists. It will be awarded to those cultural figures who will popularize science.

In British politics, Stephen Hawking is a long-time Labor supporter. In March 1968, he joined Trotskyists, writer Tariq Ali and actress Vanessa Redgrave, in a march against the Vietnam War.
He supports nuclear disarmament, universal health care and the fight against climate change; called the 2003 war in Iraq a “war crime”, and also boycotted a conference in Israel due to disagreement with the policy of the authorities of this country towards the Palestinians.
Stephen Hawking is widely mentioned in literary, musical, and cinematic works of art, for example, in one of the Simpsons episodes.
In 2015, Hawking supported Yuri Milner's Breakthrough Listen project to search for radio and light signals from extraterrestrial life. In April 2016, he co-authored the “Breakthrough Starshot” project to send mini-devices to star system Alpha Centauri.
Eddie Redmayne, who played the role of Hawking in the film “Stephen Hawking. The Theory of Everything”, received an Oscar for it as best actor year.

Titles and awards

Albert Einstein Medal (1979)
Wolf Prize (1988)
Prince of Asturias Award (1989)
Copley Medal (2006)
Fundamental Physics Prize (2013)

Today, at the age of 76, the literally brilliant physicist Stephen Hawking passed away. A man whose willpower everyone can envy. A person who, despite life circumstances and physical limitations, managed to make dozens of discoveries.

Let's remember what Stephen Hawking gave to humanity and what is remarkable about his research and scientific works.

Personal life, illness

As a child, Stephen was an ordinary child. The boy was never sick and graduated with honors from Oxford University with a bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics.

1963 was a turning point for Hawking - doctors diagnosed the guy with amyotrophic sclerosis (ALS). An incurable disease that progressed every day. Then the doctors assured that Stephen would not live more than two years.

Stephen lost the ability to speak in 1985. A complication from pneumonia caused a tracheostomy. As a result, Hawking was forced to use a speech synthesizer.

In 1965, Stephen married linguistics student Jane Wilde. The couple had three children: two sons (1967 and 1979) and a daughter (1970). Alas, after 20 years, Stephen and Jane filed for divorce, but, as each party assures, they remained friends.

In 1995, Hawking married his caregiver Elaine Mason. The marriage lasted 11 years and ended in divorce in 2006.

Since 1965, Hawking has been active scientific activity and for 15 years managed to work with research groups Institute of Theoretical Astronomy, become a teacher in the department of applied mathematics and theoretical physics, as well as the theory of gravity.

What is Stephen Hawking remembered for? Hypotheses and discoveries

The legendary theoretical physicist has dozens of scientific discoveries behind him. Fate played a cruel joke on the talented scientist: being physically chained to wheelchair, Hawking continued to make discoveries in the field of physics.

1. The Universe gave birth to itself

Hawking was skeptical of religion and was a convinced atheist. He repeatedly cited in his scientific works hypotheses that claim that God is not needed for the existence of life on Earth.

Due to the fact that there is such a force as gravity, the Universe could create itself out of nothing. Spontaneous creation is the main reason why we exist. No additional force that can “light” the fire and make the Universe work is needed.

Hawking's Universe is a world that was created solely by the laws of physics, gravity and the attraction of particles.

2. Black holes and “Hawking radiation”

In the mid-70s, Hawking conducted a series of studies, the results of which revolutionized cosmology. The scientist found that so-called black holes are characterized by radiation.

Hawking described black holes as a kind of gravitational field resulting from the collapse of stars. If in order to leave the gravitational field of the Earth and leave the planet it is necessary to develop a second escape velocity (all develop it) modern rockets), then the speed of light will not be enough to escape beyond the black hole.

Hawking radiation is explained by a modification of the energy of the particles that originally formed the star. The ratio of the energy of quantum particles before and after the collapse of a star is called Hawking radiation.

Before Hawking put forward this theory, cosmology tended to favor the theory that black holes are completely static and do not emit any energy. Stephen looked at the problem from the perspective of quantum physics.

It is noteworthy that it was black holes that Hawking called “an inexhaustible source of energy.” Alas, scientists have not yet been able to apply this discovery in practice.

3. Predicting the end of humanity

Due to the constantly growing number of people living on Earth, the amount of energy consumed by humanity is also growing.

Realizing this, Stephen Hawking predicted the death of planet Earth by 2600. The reason for this is the gradual increase in temperature due to energy consumption. Hawking was confident that within 500 years the Earth would turn into a “blazing ball of fire.”

Hawking’s theory was taken seriously and the search for a “reserve planet” for the inhabitants of the Earth began to be carried out much more actively from the day the hypothesis was announced.

4. Einstein, relativity and GPS errors

The general theory of relativity was formulated by Einstein at the beginning of the 20th century. Stephen Hawking not only considered himself one of the popularizers of this theory, but also managed to warn manufacturers of satellite navigation systems against global mistakes.

The closer an object is to Earth, the slower time passes for it. Given the difference in distance that the satellites are from each other, each of them will perceive time differently.

Hawking's research confirmed that neglecting this scientific fact can lead to errors in GPS navigation and cumulative error, which would lead to a decrease in accuracy of up to 10 kilometers per day.

5. The past is a probability

Hawking did not accept the fact of the connection between the past and the present. The physicist was confident that quantum mechanics could explain everything that happened in the past as a random and arbitrary set of events.

Whatever you remember about the past, it, like the future, exists solely as a spectrum of possibilities.

Simply put, Hawking once again emphasized that there are no patterns in time.

6. The Universe is fickle

In 1988, Hawking published his book A Brief History of Time. In a few months it turns into a bestseller. The main idea of the work is the impermanence of the Universe.

Until the 20th century, scientists were sure that the Universe is something eternal and unchanging. Stephen Hawking argued the opposite.

Light from distant galaxies is shifted towards the red part of the spectrum. This means that they are moving away from us, that the Universe is expanding.

This assumption is called the theory big bang(aka “Birth Theory”).

7. Extraterrestrial civilizations exist

Hawking was sure that aliens exist, but a meeting between humans and representatives of extraterrestrial civilizations does not bode well.

Stephen Hawking suggested that if alien technology surpasses human technology, the Earth will turn into a colony.

There are more than 100 billion galaxies in the Universe. Each consists of 100 million stars. I am sure that Earth is not the only place where life develops.

Invaluable contribution to the popularization of science

At the end of 2015, a medal named after Professor Stephen Hawking was established in London. The award is given for the popularization of science and the promotion of works that contribute to the advancement scientific knowledge in a variety of fields.

Over the course of three years, the award was received by electronic music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre, American astrophysicist and popular science writer Neil deGrasse Tyson, composer Hans Zimmer and other individuals trying to make science more popular and accessible to ordinary people.

Stephen Hawking has been called the last great dreamer. His legacy and work will live on for many years to come. Thanks to Hawking. He managed to change humanity's views on information, on the perception of black holes, on the singularity and understanding of the Universe.

Rest in peace, Stephen.