Commemorating 8 of Stephen Hawking's Remarkable work
Hawking Radiation
In 1974, Hawking applied quantum mechanics to black holes and predicted they should emit radiation, known as Hawking radiation. This was a breakthrough discovery about the nature of black holes.
No-Boundary Proposal
Along with James Hartle, Hawking devised the no-boundary proposal in 1983, an elegant model for the beginning of the universe without an initial singularity.
A Brief History of Time
Hawkings 1988 book popularized cosmology and physics for the general public, explaining complex concepts like space-time and black holes. It became a record-selling science book.
Theory of Cosmic Inflation
Hawking was an early advocate of cosmic inflation theory in the 1980s, the idea of exponential expansion right after the Big Bang. This explained aspects of the universes large-scale structure.
Black Hole Information Paradox
Hawkings work in the 1970s contradicted the principle that information cant be destroyed by showing black holes destroy information. Resolving this paradox became a major focus in physics.
Hawking Radiation Discovers New Particles
In 2016, Hawking theorized that gravitational waves around black holes could reveal evidence of gravitational particles not explained by the Standard Model.
A Smooth Exit from Eternal Inflation?
One of Hawkings final projects was trying to find how inflation ends smoothly and avoids creating multiple bubble universes, working until his death in 2018.
Popular Books
In addition to A Brief History of Time, Hawking published mass market books like The Universe in a Nutshell (2001) and A Briefer History of Time (2005) to further explain cosmology to the public.