Stephen Hawking was born in 1942, into a family of academics who lived in Oxford, seat of the prestigious British university. The Hawking family were born with intelligence, and a good deal of eccentricity. Stephen’s mother worked as a secretary for a medical research institute, and his father was a medical researcher. The Hawkings were passionate about science, and voracious readers. They read journals at the dinner table and spent long nights in academic discussion, and young Stephen lapped up every crumb of learning. Still, the family could scarcely have imagined that one day their son would give their name to a theory that would redefine the laws of relativity: “Hawking Radiation.” What exactly is Hawking Radiation? Hawking radiation is the theoretical thermal black-body radiation released by all black holes according to the laws of quantum mechanics, and which trigger their evaporation due to loss of mass and angular momentum if the black hole is rotating, and of electrical charge if it is charged. The phenomenon is puzzling, as a black hole should not emit radiation according to the theory of general relativity, which states that nothing that enters a black hole’s event horizon can then escape it. Few subjects are more complex, and only a handful of enlightened individuals are capable of understanding Hawking Radiation in depth.
At university, young Stephen soon made a name for himself through his determination and scientific creativity. “As long as he knew something could be done he would do it, without wanting to know how others were doing it,” his former physics professor recalled. Stephen Hawking had his father’s gift for research, and the desire to leave a unique and indelible mark on the world of science. But life is not made of maths alone – Stephen Hawking was also an athletic and well-built young man. He was captain of a rowing team, and cultivated an image as a daredevil and a hot-head, leading his team into choppy waters. In science as in life, Stephen Hawking showed no fear. But to break into the scientific world he would need to work every hour God sent, and at Oxford he spent long hours in the library. Despite his efforts and obvious talent, exams made Stephen nervous – he lost his composure, and achieved only a 2:1 in his final exams. His final grade would be determined by interview. A renowned Oxford professor took an interest in him, and asked what his ambitions were. In fact, Stephen had intended to continue his studies at Cambridge, but needed to finish with a ‘first’ in order to do so. Assuming the faculty saw him as a lazy and difficult student, he told the professor: “If you give me a first, I’ll go to Cambridge. If I get a 2:1, I’ll stay at Oxford…so I expect you’ll give me a first.” The professor gave him a knowing smile, impressed by this insolent yet bold response, and awarded Hawking a first. The young man was going places.
When he was 21, in the prime of his youth and just as his work was beginning to show real promise, Stephen noticed that his body was growing weaker. He could no longer row like he used to, and his muscles were growing stiff. One day, he fell down the stairs. He checked into hospital, and the diagnosis was stark: he had an extremely serious degenerative condition. Stephen Hawking would eventually be completely paralysed. In a few years he would be wheelchair-bound. The young man was devastated, but determined to forge a future for himself. When he lost the ability to write he developed visual methods to use instead, notably by seeing equations in terms of geometric shapes – an achievement akin to Mozart composing entire symphonies in his head.
Stephen Hawking died in 2018. His headstone reads: “Here lies what was mortal of Stephen Hawking, 1942-2018,” along with his most famous equation.
Alan Alfredo Geday