Astrophysicist Steven Hawking died

In Cambridge, at the 77th year of his life, the theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking died. It is reported by the BBC.

“We are deeply saddened by the fact that our beloved father died today. He was a great scientist and outstanding person, whose works and heritage will stay with us for many years,” the Hawking family said.

Hawking was born in Oxford on January 8, 1942. In 1963, when he graduated from the university, doctors diagnosed him with an incurable disease - lateral amyotrophic sclerosis - a disease of motor neurons, which deprives the human muscle of the opportunity to move. Doctors claimed that the scientist would not live for two years.

However, Hawking, despite the paralysis, continued to engage in science. After pneumonia in 1985, he lost the ability to speak and communicated with the help of a voice synthesizer. By the end of his life, the physicist was able to move only the facial muscle of the cheek, which he controlled the computer with the help of the sensor. Despite this, Hokin visited conferences and seminars, and taught at Cambridge University until 2009.

Hawking is one of the founders of quantum cosmology. In particular, he studied the theory of the emergence of the world as a result of a large explosion. In addition, the scientist made a number of important discoveries in the theory of black holes. The main scientific result of hoking is associated with the hypothesis that black holes of small mass lose energy and gradually evaporate, emitting radiation and then "die". This phenomenon is called "Hawking Radiation".

Hawking was one of the most famous popularizers of science. The scientist gained wide fame in 1988, when he released the popular science book "A Brief History of Time". Its total circulation amounted to more than 10 million copies.

Astrophysicist also wrote wrote the popular science books "Black Holes and Young Universes" (1993), "The World in a Walnut Shell" (2001).

The scientist was awarded the Order of the British Empire, the Order of the Cavaliers of Honor and other orders and medals of different countries.