The controversial theories that made Professor Stephen Hawking one of the greatest physicists of our time
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Loading... - Veronica Gutierrez
- 14 Mar 2021
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Professor Stephen Hawking , the physicist regarded as one of the most intelligent people the world has ever known, has died at the age of 76.
Hawking was known for his contributions to the fields of cosmology, general relativity and quantum gravity - especially in the context of black holes.
The physicist was also actively involved in the search for alien life beyond our planet, and extremely vocal about his worries around artificial intelligence.
Here’s a look at some of the controversial theories that made Professor Stephen Hawking one of the greatest physicists of our time.
Black holes
In the 1960s and 1970s, Hawking worked on several theorems regarding general relativity, and made the prediction that black holes should emit radiation - something now known as Hawking radiation.
Together with his colleague Roger Penrose, Hawking applied a new, complex mathematical model created from Einstein's General Theory of Relativity which led the pair to prove the first of many singularity theorems.
This theorem implied that space and time would need to have had a beginning in a Big Bang event, and would end in black holes.
In 1974, Hawking also showed that black holes are not completely black, and that they actually emit subatomic particles, known as Hawking radiation.
This also led to the so-called ‘Hawking Paradox’, in which physical information appears to be lost in the universe - going against the laws of physics.
Hawking defended this paradox several times, before retracting his claim in 2004.
The theory of everything
As Hawking’s research into black holes continued, he increasingly indicated that there must be an all-encompassing theory of quantum gravity, which he dubbed the "theory of everything”.
But despite never proving that there was a ‘theory of everything’, Hawking suggested that this may be a good thing.
During a lecture in 2004, Hawking said: “Some people will be very disappointed if there is not an ultimate theory that can be formulated as a finite number of principles.
“I used to belong to that camp, but I have changed my mind. I'm now glad that our search for understanding will never come to an end, and that we will always have the challenge of new discovery.”
The Big Bang theory
In the 1980s, Hawking called into question the Big Bang theory itself, suggesting that there may have never been a start and would be no end.
Working with physicist Jim Hartle, he developed the ‘No Boundary Proposal’, which suggests that the universe is finite but had no initial singularity to produce a boundary.
Views on God
Hawking was well known for his view that there is no God.
In his 1988 book, ‘A Brief History of Time’, he suggested that the discovery of an overarching theory of everything would allow us to "know the mind of God.”
But in his 2010 book, "The Grand Design”, he stated that "spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist. It is not necessary to invoke God...to set the universe going”.
The search for aliens
Along with Mark Zuckerberg and Yuri Milner, Hawking founded Breakthrough Initiatives - a programme looking find alien life beyond our planet.
The Breakthrough Initiative includes Breakthrough Listen - a systematic search for artificial radio and optic signals that could indicate aliens, and Breakthrough Message - a competition to design a message representing Earth, life and humanity that could be understood by aliens.
But Hawking was also wary of aliens, and warned that it could be dangerous to contact intelligent life forms.
In an interview, he said: “If aliens visit us, the outcome could be much like when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans.”
Warnings about artificial intelligence
Hawking made several chilling warnings about the imminent rise of artificial intelligence.
During an interview with Wired last year, he said: “I fear that AI may replace humans altogether.
“If people design computer viruses, someone will design AI that improves and replicates itself.
“This will be a new form of life that outperforms humans.”
And in 2016, he warned that AI could develop a will of its own that conflicts with that of humanity.
He said: “I believe there is no deep difference between what can be achieved by a biological brain and what can be achieved by a computer.
“It therefore follows that computers can, in theory, emulate human intelligence - and exceed it.”
