Stephen Hawking: A Crippled Prodigy
Have you ever wondered, if you don't have arms, legs, walking, or talking abilities, how would you survive? Tough, right? Yes, it is! But Stephen Hawking, the most well-known scientist in the 21st century, has made this tough work possible! He was not only one of the world's most famous scientists but also the most famous disabled person. His life was a juxtaposition of sparkling intellect and a failing body. Despite suffering from an incurable disease, he made contributions to quantum mechanics that are undoubtedly incredible.
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Stephen Hawking was an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author who, at the time of his death, was the director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge. Between 1979 and 2009, he was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, widely viewed as one of the most prestigious academic posts in the world. His scientific works included the theoretical prediction that black holes emit radiation, often called Hawking radiation, a major breakthrough in theoretical physics. He was the first to set out a theory of cosmology explained by a union of the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics.
Early life
Hawking was born on 8 January 1942 in Oxford to Frank and Isobel Eileen Hawking. He began his schooling at the Byron House School in Highgate, London & university education at University College, Oxford, in October 1959 at the age of 17. After receiving a first-class BA degree in physics, he began his graduate work at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, in October 1962. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in applied mathematics and theoretical physics, specializing in general relativity and cosmology, in March 1966.
Marital life
In 1962, at a party, Hawking met his future wife, Jane Wilde. The following year, Hawking was diagnosed with motor neurone disease. In October 1964, the couple became engaged to marry, aware of the potential challenges that lay ahead due to Hawking's shortened life expectancy and physical limitations. Hawking later said that the engagement gave him "something to live for". The two were married on 14 July 1965 in their shared hometown of St Albans & had three children namely: Robert, Lucy, and Timothy.
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Disability
Hawking had a rare early-onset, slow-progressing form of motor neuron disease, a fatal neurodegenerative disease that affects the motor neurones in the brain and spinal cord, which gradually paralyzed him over decades. In the late 1960s, Hawking's physical abilities declined, he began to use crutches and could no longer give lectures regularly. As he slowly lost the ability to write, he developed compensatory visual methods, including seeing equations in terms of geometry. When Hawking was 21, in 1963, doctors gave him a life expectancy of two years. He preferred to be regarded as,
"A scientist first, popular science writer second, and, in all the ways that matter, a normal human being with the same desires, drives, dreams, and ambitions as the next person."
During a visit to CERN on the border of France and Switzerland in mid-1985, Hawking contracted pneumonia, which in his condition was life-threatening; he was so ill that his wife Jane was asked if life support should be terminated. She refused, but the consequence was a tracheotomy, which required round-the-clock nursing care and the removal of what remained of his speech. For his communication, Hawking initially raised his eyebrows to choose letters on a spelling card, but in 1986, he received a computer program called the "Equalizer". In this method, Hawking could simply press a switch to select phrases, words, or letters from a bank of about 2,500–3,000 that were scanned. By 2009, he could no longer drive his wheelchair independently. Near the end of his life, Hawking experienced increased breathing difficulties, often resulting in his requiring the usage of a ventilator, and being regularly hospitalized.
Contribution towards science
Stephen Hawking proposed that this universe has no boundaries. In his research, he found that if this universe started with the Big Bang, then it would end with the Big Bang. He also explained Albert Einstein's theory of relativity. Using the General Theory of Relativity and Quantum Theory together, he gave us the concept of Hawking Radiation in which we came to know that Black Holes do not always exist, they leave the Hawking Radiation continuously. Hawking also explained the concept of Penrose– Hawking theorems, Blackhole information paradox, Micro black hole, Primordial black hole, Chronology protection conjecture, Soft hair (No hair theorem), Bekenstein–Hawking formula, Hawking energy, Hawking-Page phase transition. His essay "Singularities and the Geometry of Space-Time" shared top honours with one by Penrose to win that year's prestigious Adams Prize.
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Death
At the age of 76, Hawking died at his home in Cambridge on 14 March 2018. His family stated that he "died peacefully". He was interred in the Abbey's Scientists' Corner, beneath a stone inscribed: "Here lies what was mortal of Stephen Hawking" — an English translation of the Latin words on the nearby grave of Newton. Later, on 15 June, more than a thousand people gathered at Westminster Abbey to pay their final respects to him.
Stephen Hawking was a true inspiration to the disabled and abled. A genius that never let his disability stop him from achieving the unthinkable. He has shaped the fundamental thinking of black holes and the cosmos, furthering astronomy by a milestone. By persevering through hardships, he has helped shape our understanding of the universe. Despite the challenges in his life, he feels that the discoveries are worth it.
"I have been very fortunate in everything except getting motor neuron disease. And even the disease has not been such a blow. With a lot of help, I have managed to get around the effects. I have the satisfaction of having succeeded despite it. I'm really much happier than I was before it began. I can't say it has been a benefit, but I have been lucky that it has not been the disadvantage it could have been" -Stephen Hawking
We should feel grateful to have lived at the same time as one of the greatest human beings to have graced this planet.
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