A tribute to Stephen Hawking (1942-2018)

Prof. H Nandakumar Sarma *

Confined to his wheel chair, Professor Stephen William Hawking of the Cambridge University, is seeking a Theory of Everything (ToE) that will explain the birth and the evolution of the universe. Hawking who had become a legend even before he was thirty, was the greatest astrophysicist of our times and is also widely regarded as the most brilliant theoretical physicist since Einstein. Hawking occupied the most prestigious scientific position- the Lucasian Chair of Mathematics in the University of Cambridge, England for more than thirty years.

The position was once held by none other than Sir Isaac Newton and Paul Dirac. This British scientist is best known for his theories of black holes- the most enigmatic objects in the universe where even time comes to a rest. Hawking is one of the few scientists searching for the Holy Grail of modern physics, a Theory of Everything (ToE), a theory that hopefully link the two greatest intellectual achievements of the twentieth century-relativity and quantum mechanics.

The former deals with the large scale structure of the universe as essentially determined by gravity and the latter with the micro world- atomic and sub atomic level. Stephen Hawking was born in Oxford on 8th January 1942. Incidentally, it was the three hundredth anniversary of the death of Galileo Galilei, the famous Italian astronomer. His father Frank worked as a research biologist in tropical diseases at the Nation Institute for Medical Sciences at Mill Hill in north- west, London.

Hawking was a healthy boy. His father wanted him to study medicine. But he resisted, he felt that biology was too descriptive and not sufficiently fundamental. By the age of fourteen, he resolved to become a mathematician or physicist. Stephen Hawking wanted to study mathematics. But his college- University College, Oxford did not offer mathematics. So he opted physics. There he was so good in physics that he came out with a first class with little effort.

He says that in the three years at Oxford, he worked on average of an hour a day. From Oxford he moved to Cambridge University to do his Ph.D. work under the supervision of Professor Dennis Sciama. In the year 1963, during his Ph.D. days Hawking was diagnosed as suffering from ALS (amyotrophic lateral scelerosis) commonly known as motor neuron disease.

Rare and incurable, it affects the nerves of the spinal cord and parts of the brain which produce voluntary motor functions. He was told by his doctors that he was going to live not more than two to three years. This had confided him to the wheel-chair for the rest of his life. This has strengthen his will and determined to work hard during the last few years of his life. His misery did not stopped at ALS.

He had to undergo a tracheotomy operation after an attack of pneumonia in 1985, which robbed him of his ability to speak. The only way Hawking can communicate is through a computer keyboard, and that too, very slowly. He can communicate with programme called living centre, which helps him to write research papers, books and speak to people using voice synthesiser.

Upto the end of the 19th century Sir Issac Newton's concept of 'Clockwork Universe' had a firm and logical place, from the fall of apple to the motion of planets, satellites and absolute space and time. Einstein latter showed that space and time are not two separate entities but a single unified concept-space time.

The turning point in Hawking's career came after attending a talk on "Space- time singularity at the center of a black hole" by Roger Penrose, a famous British cosmologist. Hawking applied Roger's singularity theory to the entire universe. His idea turned out to be a brilliant piece of work which led to his PhD. Hawking work with Roger Penrose showed that if Einstein's theory of relativity is correct time should have a beginning in the big bang and end in black hole.

Black hole can be considered as a 'bottomless hole', in the fabric of space-time out of which even light cannot get out. The concept of black holes to the Americans is "something dark and mysterious" while to the British there is added resonance of the "Black Hole of Calcutta". It is commonly believed that nothing can come out of a black hole, since nothing can overcome amazing gravitational pull.

In fact, that is why it is so named; anything falling into a black hole is lost forever. There is no way an object can send information from inside a black hole. Thus, scientists believed black holes could never be studied directly. Hawking discovered it to be otherwise. He has shown that black holes are not completely black. Black holes are leaky, hairy. Until 1974, the black holes were simply insatiable maws in space, capable of swallowing matter. Then Stephen Hawking came up with an exceptionally crazy idea. At the meeting in Oxford, Hawking stunned his audience by declaring that black holes would explode.

The very intense gravity just outside the so called 'magic circle' could create particles which will be durable in the intense gravitational field near the black hole. Some of them would probably fall into the black hole, but the others would escape. Black holes were leaky. The idea of exploding black holes followed from this. What are Hawking's most important contributions to science?

The paper entitled 'Black Hole Explosions' described by professor Sciama as 'one of the most beautiful in the history of physics' came as a surprise to everybody including its author, Hawking. Black holes destroy information. It abolishes history, destroying information about the pieces of the universe that it devoured. Hawking's equations creating the connection between gravity and heat were among the most extraordinary ever written. You can't get something for nothing is also applied to black hole.

Hawking expressed this as "there is no free lunch in the universe". Speaking 'Predicting the Future from Astrology to Black Holes' Hawking put forth a very logical argument against astrological predictions. 'Scientist', he said, "don't believe in astrology not because it is not consistent with our other theories which have been tested by experiment." According to Hawking, astrological columns are deliberately vague so that they can never be proved wrong.

At the age of thirty two, Stephen Hawking became a fellow of the Royal Society, one of the youngest in modern times. Hawking has been distinguished himself in explaining the complexities of the cosmos to the layman. His popular science book "A Brief History of Time" is a brilliant exposition on the working of the cosmic world, which has sold one copy for every 340 men, women and children on earth.

In spring 2001, Hawking delivered lecture on "The Universe in a Nutshell" drawn from Hamlet in which the prince declares "I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space". Hawking also delivered his public lecture on "Science in the Future". Hawking describes 'not only the advances in science, but also the scenarios on earth that we may have to be prepare for in the future".

Starting with ideas of Galileo and Aristotle we see how things have changed beyond recognition in a few centuries. Will the Simpsons revel what is to come? The magnitude of Stephen Hawking's discoveries, and his success in awakening public to the beauty of science are remarkable. His determination to overcome the debilitating handicap makes him unique, leaving indelible mark in the entire history of science. The British scientist, famed for his work on black holes, died at his home in Cambridge on March 14, 2018 at the age of 76.

The Theory of Everything (2014 Film)

The Theory of Everything is a 2014 British movie biographical romantic drama film directed by James Marsh and adapted by Anthony McCarten from the memory Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen by Jane Wilde Hawking, which deals with her relationship with her ex-husband, theoretical physicists Stephen Hawking, his diagnosis of motor neuron disease and his success in physics.

The Film has its world premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on 7 Sept 2014. The film opened to a positive reception worldwide and was nominated for a variety of accolades in award shows and film festivals.

Eddie Redmayne's performance as Stephen Hawking was widely praised, earning him several awards and nominations including the Academy Award for Best Actor. The film received four Golden Globe Award for best Actor- Motion Picture Drama for Redmayne and Best Original Score for Johann Johannsson (Music).

It received three 21st Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations, winning one for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading role for Redmayne. It received 10 nominations Academy Film Awards nominations i n British Academy Film Awards and won Outstanding British Film, Best Leading Actor (for Redmayne) and Best Adapted Screenplay (for Anthony McCarten)

( This article is an extract from Prof H. Nandakumar Sharma's book "Einstein and After" to be published)