世间再无霍金 时间永留简史|British physicist Stephen Hawking dies at 76

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2018年3月14日，英国著名物理学家斯蒂芬•霍金去世，享年76岁。其子女在声明中写道：“我们将永远怀念他。”并表示，“他的勇气、坚持和他的杰出及幽默鼓舞了世界各地的人。”

斯蒂芬•威廉•霍金（Stephen William Hawking），1942年1月8日出生于英国牛津，1979至2009年任卢卡斯数学教授，著有《时间简史》等书。

霍金21岁时患上运动神经元疾病，全身瘫痪，不能言语。但他仍在物理学领域做出了很大成就，主要研究领域为宇宙论和黑洞理论。证明了广义相对论的奇性定理和黑洞面积定理，提出了黑洞蒸发理论和无边界的霍金宇宙模型。因此，他被认为是现代最伟大的物理学家之一、20世纪享有国际盛誉的伟人之一。

Praised by many as the "smartest man alive," British physician, professor Stephen Hawking has left the world, as announced by his family members.

"We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today," Hawking's children, Lucy, Robert, and Tim said in a statement through Press Association. "He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years."

The family also praised Hawking that "his courage and persistence with his brilliance and humor inspired people across the world."

"He once said, 'It would not be much of a universe if it wasn't home to the people you love.' We will miss him forever."

A brief history of Hawking

Hawking was born in January 1942 in Oxford. He was diagnosed with motor neuron disease, or the "ice bucket disease" in 1963 when he was declared to be able to live for just two years.

But Hawking went on living. The disease paralyzed him so heavily that he had to live in a wheelchair and speak with a voice synthesizer.

He carried on researching theoretical physics and cosmology, reaching loads of breakthroughs on black holes.

The light-absorbing existence was found to emit a kind of radiation, named after Hawking's name.

Hawking was also a great science educator with a sense of humor. His book A Brief History of Time sold more than 10 million copies. It explained many physics theories in an easy-to-understand manner, leading the general public to the world of physics.

His cautious vision of artificial intelligence became a recent news topic. His PhD thesis, which was made public in October 2017, crashed the University of Cambridge's website as too many people rushed to download it.

A brief history of Stephen Hawking on screens

Apart from his tremendous contribution to science, Hawking also appeared in a considerable number of films and sitcoms as a humorous man – both as himself or portrayed by others.

2014 – The Theory of Everything

The biographical film about Hawking documented the physicist's life from early childhood as a prodigy to the aftermath of the diagnosis of his disease. The role was taken on by British actor Eddie Redmayne, who went on to beat Benedict Cumberbatch to win the Oscar for best actor at the 2014 Academy Awards.

Intriguingly, Cumberbatch also played Hawking before – in a BBC feature-length drama by Peter Moffat in 2004. Cumberbatch met Hawking twice but didn't develop a relationship. Redmayne, however, devoted more time and energy. He spent six months doing the research and reading "A Brief History of Time." He also spent time meeting the physicist and his family and joined the Hawking family at the London premiere of the film.

In this file photo taken on December 9, 2014, British actors Felicity Jones (L) and Eddie Redmayne (R) pose with British scientist Stephen Hawking (C) at the UK premiere of the film "The Theory of Everything" in London.

"I thought Eddie Redmayne portrayed me very well in The Theory of Everything movie. He spent time with ALS sufferers so he could be authentic. At times, I thought he was me," Hawking wrote on his Facebook page.

On the heels of hearing the sad news, Redmayne paid his tribute. "We have lost a truly beautiful mind, an astonishing scientist and the funniest man I have ever had the pleasure to meet….My love and thoughts are with his extraordinary family."

2012 – The Big Bang Theory

Hawking first appeared in Season 5 of the popular sitcom in 2012. In Episode 21, named "The Hawking Excitation," Howard was hired to maintain his wheelchair equipment when Hawking was to give a lecture at Caltech. When Sheldon heard the news, he was thrilled to get the opportunity to meet the great man.

The physicist appeared shortly in a cameo at the end of the scene, but he didn't stop just there. Hawking continued to appear in the sitcom in six more episodes, stretching from Season 6 to 11.

Screenshot of Twitter

"In loving memory of Stephen Hawking. It was an honor to have him on The #BigBangTheory. Thank you for inspiring us and the world," @bigbangtheory wrote on its official Twitter account.

2000 – Futurama

Hawking appeared as himself in two episodes of the TV series in 2000 and 2001. In the first episode, he joined Vice Presidential Action Rangers, led by Al Gore, who aimed to protect the space-time continuum.

Later in 2008, he played as a detached head in the movie "Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs."

1999 – The Simpsons

The thriving American sitcom debuted just one year after Hawking's best-selling book, but the physicist didn't make his way to the animated show until 1999.

Hawking as seen as a cartoon character on The Simpsons episode "They Saved Lisa's Brain."

The Briton lent his voice to four episodes of the show – first in "They Saved Lisa's Brain," in which the middle Simpson child's Mensa group had taken control of the town but Hawking came out to break their fantasy that their utopia will never succeed.

The appearance earned Hawking big fandom, and he went on to reprise his role in three more episodes in what he called "the best thing on American television."

1993 – Star Trek: The Next Generation

In the finale of Season 6 of "Next Generation," Hawking, Albert Einstein and Issac Newton appeared as holograms playing poker with Lt. Commander Data.

Hawking portrayed his own hologram for this episode, making him the only guest in any Star Trek series to play himself.

The physicist was a self-proclaimed "Star Trek" fan. When taking a tour of the set, he requested and was allowed to sit in the captain's chair of the Enterprise-D.

 向伟大的物理学家致敬