Even if you are not interested in Physics, you’ve probably heard of the renowned physicist Stephen Hawking. Born in Oxford, England and affected with a motor neuron disease, Stephen Hawking was one of the most acclaimed Theoretical Physicists of modern times. Dr. Hawking's theories and ideas changed the way we look at space and time, but his life was as much about hope and persistence as it was about science. He prided himself on making his complex physical concepts accessible to the public and writing the bestseller, "A Brief History of Time."
Besides his contribution in the field of Science (especially Cosmology), his life has many other things worth knowing. Here are some interesting facts about him and his remarkable contributions to science.
Here are the few facts to know about Dr.Hawking :-
Born On Galileo's death anniversary :-
Stephen Hawking was born on 8th 1942 which just happened to be the 300th anniversary of Galileo's death .Interestingly, he died on, March 14th, on the anniversary of Albert Einstein's birth.
Safe Birthplace :-
Hawking was not a brilliant student in school :-
Its human thinking that whenever we heard about any scientist that one thing come in the mind that he/she would have a bright in from the schooling itself but its not so. when Hawking was 9 years old ,his grades were amongst the worst in class and even later with some effort he could bring them up to only about average.
Excellent sense of humour :-
Apart from a great scientist ,Hawking is also known to have a excellent sense of humour .An animated version of him appeared on "The Simpsons" for which he himself lent the voice of his famous voice synthesiser.
Childhood Nickname :-
During his school times, Stephen Hawking was nicknamed as- Einstein.And we already know that Hawking also died on anniversary of Albert Einstein's Birthday.
Hawking suffered from ALS :-
Almost everyone knows that stephen suffered from Motor Neuron Disease, but very few actually know that another name for the disease is Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS).
The Equation :-
While it’s impossible to sum up Hawking's life in one word, it can be done with one equation:
This formula, which involves the speed of light (c), Newton’s constant (G) and other symbols that make the non-mathematically inclined run for cover, measures emissions from black holes that today is known as Hawking radiation.
Hawking use Machine to speak :-
Hawking had an infrared switch mounted on his glasses that generated words by detecting cheek movement.
He lost a bet on black holes :-
Hawking made a bet in 1997 with American theoretical physicist John Preskill about the information paradox of black holes which said that nothing can escape from a black hole, not even information. but this violated one of the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics and finally he lost the bet in 2004.
He disliked biology :-
He really disliked biology which probably explained why he went into quantum physics.As per certain reports, Hawking's father wanted him to study medicine but he was always more inclined towards Mathematics. He found biology 'too inexact, too descriptive' and wanted to learn more precise and well-defined concepts.
