![Stephen Hawking in zero gravity [image credit: Pingnews.com/Flickr]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2018/3/15/660x290/b_502x220x82/stephen-hawking-in-zero-gravity-image-credit-pingnewscomflickr_1886059.jpg "Stephen Hawking in zero gravity [image credit: Pingnews.com/Flickr]")
Stephen Hawking is widely known for his extensive career as a theoretical physicist. He was born in Oxford, England on January 8, 1942. The date just so happens to be 300 years after the death of Galileo. Hawking contributed greatly across multiple fields; cosmology, quantum gravity, and general relativity.
Among Hawking’s many accomplishments, he authored "A Brief History of Time" in 1988. His work spans across many different subjects-enough to fill volumes. Hawking has passed after years of living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS; he was diagnosed at the age of 20.
Although he was born in Oxford, he preferred for his computerized voice system to speak with an American accent. Hawking informed the Queen that his voice was copywritten when questioned about the accent.
The Creation of the Universe
He promoted the idea of a Big Bang that began with a singularity event. According to Hawking, that single event sparked the expansion of the universe. Some physicists challenged and disagreed with Hawking's views such as Leonard Susskind and John Preskill of the University of California.
Black Holes
Physicist Robert McKnees argued in the early 1970’s that Black Holes absorb energy, are perfectly cold, and emit nothing. In 1976, Hawking proposed that black holes radiate energy.
It has been commonly believed that energy becomes lost in a black hole. Hawking proposed that black holes leak energy, eventually disseminating.
The event horizon around a black hole has just enough energy to pull some light back, preventing it from escaping. It has been found that the energy never becomes lost but is stored on hair-like, soft, zero-energy particles that beyond the boundary of the black hole.
These hair-like particles are made of holographic plates. This is known as Hawking Radiation.
Alien Life
Hawking compared Columbus discovering the Native Americans to humans discovering alien life. He has many quotes indicating that it may not turn out well for humans to happen upon aliens. The physicist has also gone on record stating that it’s “extremely unlikely that we are the only evolved form of life.” However, he also believed that mankind needs to enter space in order to survive.
Hawking is quoted as saying, "I think the human race has no future if it doesn't go into space." Hawking has also said uplifting comments at college lectures including, “...and however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.”
Hawking is the recipient of numerous awards including; Royal Society’s Copley Medal, Pius XI Medal, Presidential Medal of Freedom, Wolf Prize in Physics, Fonseca Prize, and the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics to name a few.
