Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking (1942–2018) was an English theoretical physicist and cosmologist whose work reshaped the study of black holes and the early universe. He also wrote the bestselling popular-science book A Brief History of Time.

Hawking radiation: The predicted thermal radiation emitted by black holes because of quantum effects near their horizons. This prediction made black holes participants in thermodynamics rather than perfectly dark objects.
Event horizon: A boundary around a black hole beyond which events cannot influence distant observers. Quantum effects near this boundary underpin the prediction of Hawking radiation.
Roger Penrose: An English mathematical physicist whose work on spacetime geometry and singularities transformed general relativity. Penrose and Hawking jointly proved influential singularity theorems.
University of Cambridge: A public research university in Cambridge, England, founded in 1209. Hawking completed his doctorate there and spent most of his academic career at the university.
Cosmology: The scientific study of the universe’s origin, structure, evolution, and eventual fate. Hawking’s research and public writing made questions about cosmic origins central to his reputation.
Black hole thermodynamics: The framework linking black-hole properties such as mass and horizon area to temperature and entropy. Hawking helped establish the laws that connect black-hole mechanics with ordinary thermodynamics.
Quantum field theory in curved spacetime: A framework describing quantum fields on a gravitationally curved spacetime treated as a classical background. Hawking’s radiation calculation used quantum fields in the curved geometry around a black hole.
James Hartle: An American theoretical physicist who developed quantum cosmology and the Hartle–Hawking no-boundary proposal. Hartle collaborated with Hawking on a model of the universe’s quantum origin.
Oxford University: A collegiate research university in Oxford, England, with origins in the eleventh century. Hawking studied physics at Oxford before moving to Cambridge for doctoral research.
The Grand Design: A 2010 popular-science book by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow about fundamental physics and cosmology. The book extended Hawking’s public arguments about whether the universe needs a creator.

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