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A Brief History of Time

4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 · rating details · 65,111 ratings · 1,945 reviews

From the time of the ancient Greeks through the present time, this historical overview of cosmology is told by one of the most famous and fascinating scientists today.

In the ten years since its publication in 1988, Stephen Hawking's book has become a landmark volume in scientific writing, with more than nine million copies sold worldwide. That edition was on the cutting ed...more

Paperback, Updated & Expanded 10th Anniversary, 212 pages

Published September 1st 1998 by Bantam Books (first published 1988)

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May 15, 2013 Huda Yahya rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: philosophy, science, history

‎‏‏

هناك لذّةٌ ما ،، في أن تفتحَ كتاباً تشعُّ من سطوره ألوان الفضاء
شيءٌ ما في فعلِ المعرفةِ ،، والتأمل فيها
شيءٌ يأخذ عقلك إلى أمكنةٍ أخرى
...
لا بين المجرات
ولا في خضّم الكونِ الواسع
بل هنا بداخلك
عند هذا النبض الأخّاذ في قلبك
حيث تبدأ المتعة في التحرر
لتغمر مسامّك برائحة الدهشة
فالكون في داخلك أنت يا صاحبي

تاريخٌ موجز للزمن ،، يُعتبر من أهم الكتب العلمية الحديثة
يأخذك ستيفن هوكنج في رحلةٍ عبر تاريخ العلم
ويشرح لك كيف تغيّرت نظرتنا للكون ،، ولمجرتنا ،، ‏ولكرتنا الأرضية ،، ولأنفسنا كذلك عبر العصور

هذه هي قراءتي الثانية لستيفن هوكنج ،وقد أعجبتُ أيّما إعجاب بقراءتي الأولي "التصميم العظيم" ‏،وإن قارنت هذا بذاك ،فأرجّحُ كفّة الأخير

لا أعلم إن كانت للترجمة دورٌ في ذلك ،فلقد قرأت التصميم العظيم بلغته الأصلية

لقد توقّعت أكثر مما وجدتُّ في هذا الكتاب ،فقد حسبته أكثر متعة وجمالاً في سرده أو في ترابط فصوله
ولكن لن تجد هُنا سوى متعةَ المادة العلمية ذاتها ، فـ اسلوب هوكنج جافٌ قليلاً‏

كما وضع كارل ساجان مقدمة جميلة للكتاب
ليثير شهيتي أكثر

============================================
فلنتعرف على مؤلف سطور المعرفة الشهية إذا
============================================

يقول ستيفن
_______________________________________________
‏لقد كنتُ مصدر يأس لوالدي في صباي، إذ كنتُ ‏دائماً أقوم بفك الأجهزة لأرى ما الذي ‏يجعلها ‏تصدر أصواتاً، وبالطّبع لم يكن بإمكاني - عادة - ‏جمع أجزائها مرة أخرى، إلاّ أنّني ‏شعرت بإمكان السيطرة على أيّ شيء - بطريقة أو بأخرى - إذا ‏فهمت كيفيّة عمله، وأنا موقن ‏من وجود الشعور ‏نفسه لدى الآخرين
فنحن نجد أنفسنا في عالم لا ‏يلحظ وجودنا في الغالب ولا ‏يهتم به، بل - أحياناً - ‏يعادي هذا الوجود صراحةً

لذا، لو أمكننا فك ‏‏"اللوحة الأماميّة" للكون والنّظر خلفها فربّما نصبح ‏قادرين على فهم كيف تعمل ‏تلك العجلات ‏الصغيرة، أعني المجرات، ولشعرنا ببعض التحكّم ‏فيما يجري من أحداث، ولحسن ‏الحظ فنحن غير ‏مدعوين لإعادة تجميع الكون مرة أخرى بعد فك ‏لوحته الأماميّة‎
_______________________________________________

هل تعلم أن هذا العالم العبقري قدأُصيب بمرض التصلب الجانبي الضموري
؟ALS
هذا المرض يصيب الجهاز العصبي الحركي ،ويُفقد المصاب به قدرته على التحكم في عضلاته
وهل تعلم أن الأطباء قد أخبروه بأنه لن يعيش لأكثر من عامين ؟
ولكن يبدو أن إصرار الرجل ،وعزيمته جعلتاه بيننا مايزال ،يملأ الأرض بإبداعاته

كان ستيفن وقتها يحضّر رسالته في الفيزياء النظرية بجامعة كامبريدج
ولم يمنعه مرضه من إكمالها ليشغل منصب أستاذ الرياضيات الذي كان يشغله نيوتن في نفس الجامعة

حتى عام1974 كان هوكنج يستطيع العناية بنفسه بعض الشيء
إلا أن تفاقم المرض جعله حبيساً لكرسي متحرك ،بالإضافة إلى ذلك فقد عانى من عملية استئصال للحنجرة ليفقد صوته تماماً

ولحسن حظه ،فقد أهداه والت وولتوز ،خبير الكمبيوتر، برنامجاً عبقرياً يتيح له أن يختار كلمات من سلسلة قوائم على الحاسوب، بمجرد كبسة على مفتاح في يده، بل ويستطيع أن يتحكّم به بعينيه ،وحركة رأسه كذلك وعندما ينتهي من بناء جملته يرسلها إلى ناطق الكلمات
وقد ثبتّ الجهاز على كرسيه المتحرك ليستطيع ستيفن التحدث مع الحركة بحرية أكبر

يحتل اليوم كرسي الرياضيات في كامبريدج ،وهو أعلى منصب يحتله أستاذ في اختصاصه
حيث شغله علماء أمثال نيوتن
له أبحاث نظرية في علم الكون وفي العلاقة بين الثقوب السوداء والديناميكا الحرارية
وله دراسات في التسلسل الزمني
كما وضع هوكنج نظريات عديدة عن ‏بداية الكون منذ الانفجار الكبير ،وأيضاً عن الثقوب السوداء ،وأطلق على إشعاعها إشعاع هوكنج

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OmSoZ...
جزء من مقابلة له مع لاري كينج
============================================================
عن الكتاب
=======================
هذا الكتاب وبصورة مبسّطة نوعاً ، يعرض بعض نظريات العلماءالتي تحدثت عن الكون والزمن كنظريات ‏أرسطو وآينشتين وجاليليو ونيوتن أيضاً‏

يدور الكتاب في أساسه حول الكون
عن تمدده ،وإنكماشه وحدوده ،وعن أبعاد ‏الزمان

هذا الرجل جعل عقلي يروح يميناً ويساراً
دوخني معه بكمِّ معلوماته الهائل ،، وأفكاره المستنيرة

في البداية يحدثك ستيفن عن التصور ‏القديم للكون بإختصار ويمثل لك بتصور ‏أرسطو الأشهر مروراً ببطليموس وغيرهم

تصور أرسطو كان كالتالي
‏============================‏‏===========‏
المادة تتكون من 4 عناصر أولية‏
الماء،النار،الهواء،الأرض
تؤثر في هذه العناصر قوتان
الجاذبية ،،أي نزعة الأرض والماء إلى الهبوط
والخفّة ،،أي نزعة الهواء والنار إلى الصعود
‏============================‏‏===========‏

وإكتشاف أن الكون يتمدد كما يرى ‏هوكنج ،هو ‏إحدى الثورات الثقافية ‏العظيمة في القرن العشرين

فيقول
_______________________________________________
‎وبالتأمل وراء، فإن من السهل التعجب لآن ‏أحدا لم يفكر في ذلك من قبل ، فقد كان ينبغي على ‏‏نيوتن وغيره أن يتبينوا أن كونا ستاتيكيا لن يلبث أن ‏يبدأ سريعا في الانكماش بتأثير الجاذبية
‏ولكن ‏لنفرض بدلا من ذلك أن الكون يتمدد . فلو كان يتمدد ‏بسرعة بطيئة إلى حد ما ، فإن قوة ‏الجاذبية ستجعله ‏في النهاية يتوقف عن التمدد ليبدأ بعدها في ‏الانكماش . أما إذا كان يتمدد بسرعة ‏أكبر من معدل ‏حرج عين ، فإن الجاذبية لن تكون قط قوية بما يكفي ‏لوقف تمدده ، وسوف يستمر ‏الكون في التمدد للأبد

‏وهذا يشبه ، نوعا ، ما يحدث عندما يطلق أحدهم من ‏فوق سطح الأرض ‏صاروخا لأعلى . فإذا كانت ‏سرعته بطيئة إلى حد ما ، فإن الجاذبية ستوقف ‏الصاروخ في النهاية ‏وسيبدأ في السقوط عائدا
ومن ‏الجهة الأخرى ، إذا كانت سرعة الصاروخ أكبر من ‏سرعة ‏حرجة معينة ( حوالي سبعة أميال في الثانية ‏‏) فإن الجاذبية لا تكون قوية بما يكفي لشدة إلى ‏‏الوراء ، وهكذا فإنه سيستمر في الانطلاق بعيدا عن ‏الأرض إلى الأبد . وسلوك الكون هكذا كان ‏يمكن ‏التنبؤ به من نظرية نيوتن عن الجاذبية في أي وقت ‏من القرن التاسع عشر ، أو الثامن ‏عشر أو حتى ‏أواخر القرن السابع عشر‎‏ ‏
‎‏ ‏
إلا أن الإيمان بثبات الكون كان من القوة بحيث ظل ‏باقيا لأوائل القرن العشرين
_______________________________________________

وعن الإرتباط بين المكان والزمان، يحدثك ‏ستيفن ‏عن أهمية نظريات نيوتن والتي ‏توجها بوضعه ‏لقانون الجاذبية الكونية
‏ووقتها بدأ التعارض بين الفكر القديم الذي يرجح ‏‏ثبات النجوم وبين ما جاء به نيوتن ومن خلال ‏تفكيره ‏للخروج من هذا التساؤل أوضح إن تجاذب ‏النجوم ‏يحدث إذا كان عددها صغير ‏
أما إن كانت عددها غير محدود ومتناسقة التوزيع ‏‏بطريقة أو بأخرى في الفضاء الشاسع ، فلن تكون ‏‏هناك نقطة مركزية لتتجمع عليها ‏

وبالمناسبة فقد اعتبر أينشتين الكون ثابتاًً حين ‏وضع ‏النظرية النسبية العامة
وقد اعتبرها أكبر غلطة قام بها في حياته، عدّل ‏فيها ‏فيما بعد

فيقول

_______________________________________________
‎‏ ‏
نظرية أينشتاين عن النسبية العامة ، هي في ‏ذاتها تتنبأ بأن الزمكان يبدأ عند مفردة الانفجار ‏‏الكبير وسوف يصل إلى نهايته عند مفردة الانسحاق ‏الكبير ( إذا تقلص الكون كله ثانية ) أو عند ‏مفردة ‏من داخل ثقب أسود ( لو تقلصت منطقة محددة ، ‏مثل أحد النجوم )
وأي مادة ستهوي إلى ‏داخل ‏الثقب ستتدمر عند المفردة ، ولن يظل محسوسا في ‏الخارج إلا تأثير جاذبية كتلتها
ومن ‏الناحية ‏الأخرى ، عندما يؤخذ في الحسبان تأثيرات الكم ، ‏فإنه يبدو أن كتلة أو طاقة المادة ستُعاد ‏في النهاية ‏إلى باقي الكون ، وأن الثقب الأسود هو وأي مفردة ‏من داخله ، سوف يتبخر بعيدا ‏ليختفي في النهاية
هل يكون لميكانيك الكم تأثير درامي مساوٍ لذلك ‏على مفردتي الانفجار الكبير ‏والانسحاق الكبير ؟ ما ‏الذي يحدث حقاً أثناء الأطوال المبكرة جداً أو ‏المتأخرة جداً من الكون ‏عندما تكون مجالات ‏الجاذبية من القوة بحيث لا يمكن تجاهل تأثيرات ‏الكم ؟ هل للكون حقيقة ‏بداية أو نهاية ؟ وإذا كان ‏الأمر كذلك ، فكيف تبدوان ؟‎
_______________________________________________

و يقوم ستيفن بعدها بتوسيع مداركك عن ‏الكون ،، ‏كيف نشأ ،، ما معنى التمدد و ‏كيف بدأ الإنسان ‏يستكشف مجموعته ‏الشمسية وأرضه والكون من ‏حوله
ليذهب بنا إلى نظرية الإنفجار الكبير

لقد استمر الجدال حول نشأة الكون وتاريخه في ‏‏الزمان ‏
هل له بداية في الزمان؟ أو كان محدودا في الفضاء ‏؟

في عام 1929 ،قام هابل بإثبات أن المجرات ‏والنجوم ‏تتباعد بسرعة كبيرة وان الكون ككل آخذ ‏في التمدد ‏والإتساع ‏

وقد أدّى ذلك إلى ظهور منابت نظرية الانفجار ‏الكبير ،وبدأت فكرة تتخيل كيف كان الكون متناهياً ‏في الصغر ‏وكثافته لا متناهية‏
وترجّح أن الزمن بدأ مع الانفجار الكبير

يعتقد أصحاب النظرية أن الكون كان عبارة عن كتلة صغيرة ذات كثافة وحرارة لا يمكن تصورها
ثم انفجرت هذه الكتلة انفجاراً هائلاً منذ قرابة 13 مليار سنة لينتج عن انفجارها سحابة هائلة من الغاز والغبار الكوني

ويؤكد لك الكاتب أن الزمان قبل الانفجار الكبير لا ‏‏يمكن تحديده
بمعنى آخر لم يكن هناك ما يسمى ‏بالزمان أصلاً

a computer-generated explosion representing the Big Bang

فيقول
_______________________________________________
‏مع ذلك، كان الاكتشاف المتميّز، الذي تم في ‏نهاية ‏القرن العشرين، هو تيقننا بالفعل من وجود ‏حدث ‏أول: الانفجار العظيم، الذي قد يشبه البيضة ‏أكثر ‏ممّا يشبه الدجاجة، ومع ذلك ليس كأيٍ منهما
فقد ظهر كل من الكون والزمان للوجود أول مرة ‏‏عندم الانفجار العظيم، وذلك هو السبب الأول، فإذا ‏‏استطعنا فهم الانفجار العظيم فسنعرف سبب ظهور ‏‏الكون على صورته تلك
_______________________________________________

وينتقل بعدها إلى عناصر تكوين المادة
كيف توصلنا إلى إكتشاف الذرة ،، وكيف ‏كنا نتخيل ‏أجزاء المادة وقابليتها للإنشطار ‏من قبل ،، ويحيلك ‏إلى الجاذبية بصفتها ‏من القوى المؤثرة على عناصر ‏كوننا ‏الأساسية

حتى يومنا هذا ،يعتبر الكوارك هو أصغر ‏‏الجسيمات
والكوارك هو جسيم أولي مشحون يحس بالقوى الكبرى
البروتونات والنيترونات يتكون كل منهما من 3 كواركات
================================
يصل بك الكاتب أخيراً إلى الثقوب السوداء ‏‏_أمتع ‏فصول الكتاب
ليحدثك عن مفهومها

والثقب الأسود هو منطقة في المكان -الزمان
لا يستطيع أي شيء الهروب منها ولا حتى الضوء
لقوة جاذبيتها الشديدة

ويذهب بك بعد ذلك إلى أن الثقوب ‏السوداء ليست ‏جد سوداء
كما أن الثقوب كلما كانت أصغر كلما كانت ‏أشد ‏توهجاً ،وبالتالي تكون قدرتنا على ‏رصدها أفضل

================================

من أمتع ما قرأت عنه هنا أيضاً هو الجسيم ومضاده
فكل نوع من جسيمات المادة له مضاد جسيم مناظر له
وعندما يصطدم الجسيم بمضاده فإنهما يفنيان
ولا يتخلف عن ذلك إلا الطاقة
ويدلل بأمثلة ممتعة كذلك
^_^

الفكرة التي وجدتها مثيرة هي عدم تساوي عدد الكاوركات مع مضاداتها و هذا من حسن حظنا فلو كانت متماثلة لكان أفنى أحدهما الآخر في الكون المبكر لتترك كوناً مليئاً بالإشعاع لا يكاد يحتوي أي مادة

تخيّل معي
لا مجرات ولا نجوم ولا كواكب
ولا نحن ‎

عندما تشرد قليلاً في ذلك
احم
:P
================================

الكون بلا بداية وبلا نهاية‎
‏ ‏
‎يرى هوكنج أن
‎‏ معظم الناس وصلوا إلى ‏الإيمان بأن الكون جُعل ‏ليتطور حسب مجموعة من القوانين التي لا تُكسر ‏،ولكن هذه القوانين ‏تخبرنا بما ينبغي أن يكون الكون ‏عليه عند بدايته وعلى أنه لو كان الكون بلا بداية ‏وبلا حرف ، ‏فإنه لا تكون له بداية ولا نهاية فهو ‏ببساطة موجود‎
‏ ‏

وفي فصل سهم الزمان ،، يحدثك هوكنج ‏عن مفهوم ‏الزمن ،، وارتباطه بنظرية ‏النسبية

يرى ستيفن أن هناك فارقاًً كبيراً بين ‏إتجاهي الأمام ‏والوراء للزمان الحقيقي ‏في الحياة العادية
‏
ويدلل لك بمثالأً طريفاً

فيقول

‏_______________________________________________

‏تصوّر قدح ماء يقع من على مائدة وينكسر ‏‏على الأرض إلى قطع
لو أخذت لذلك فيلماً سينمائياً ، فإنه ‏سيمكنك بسهولة ‏أن تعرف إذا كان الفيلم ‏يسير أماماً أو وراء ‏
ولو سيرته وراء فسوف ترى القطع تجمع ‏نفسها معاً ‏فجاة من على الأرضية وتقفز ‏عائدةً لتكون قدحاً ‏كاملاً على المائدة

‎…‎
ماذا سيحدث إن توقف الكون عن التمدد ‏وبدأ في ‏الإنكماش
سيؤدي هذا إلى صنوف الإحتمالات التي ‏من نوع ‏يشبه الروايات العلمية بالنسبة ‏للناس الذين سيبقون ‏أحياء من طور ‏التمدد حتى طور الإنكماش
هل سيرون الأقداح المكسورة تجمع ‏نفسها معاً من ‏على الأرضية وتب عائدة ‏فوق المائدة؟
‎…‎
على أن ثمة طريقة أسرع لمعرفة ما ‏سيحدث:هي ‏القفز في ثقب أسود
إن كان الإضطراب سيقل في طور ‏الإنكماش للكون ‏، فإن المرء قد يتوقع له ‏أيضاً أن يقل في الثقب ‏الأسود
وهكذا لعل الفلكي الذي سيسقط في ‏الثقب الأسود ‏سيتمكن من كسب نقوده ‏في لعبة الروليت بأن يتذكر ‏أين ذهبت ‏الكرة قبل أن يضع رهانه

‏(على أنه لن يتاح له لسوء الحظ زمن ‏طويل للعب ‏قبل أن يتم تحويله إلى ‏إسباجيتي)‏
:D
_______________________________________________

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هذا الفيديو يوضَح شيئاً من وجهة نظره عن ‏نشأة الكون

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq-‎WF...

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‏ إن لم تكن قد قرأت كتاباً علمياً من قبل ،أو على الأقل تابعت بعض الدوريات و المواقع العلمية ، ‏فلا أنصحك بهذاالكتاب كبداية
فسوف تجده مملاً قليلاً ،وستجد نفسك غارقاً في المصطلحات التي ستشتّت ‏انتباهك،وتعيقك عن الإستمتاع به
وهذا الكتاب يحتاج للقراءة لكثيرٍ من المرّات كي تتشبع بمعلوماته ،و يحتاج لكثير من القراءات الخارجية كذلك

الكتاب معلوماته قيمة وشيقة لواحدٍ من أهم العلماء ‏الذين أنجبتهم الأرض

ولا يزال علم الفلك متعة عظيمة ،، ‏
وتحليقنا بين المجرّات محفّز عظيم للخيال

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Sep 09, 2008 Bill rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: cosmology, physics

This book puts me in mind of the story about how a Harvard number theorist, through some malfunction of the scheduling computer, got assigned to teach an introductory course in pre-calculus. Being one of those individuals to whom math came so easily that they couldn't grasp how difficult others found it, the professor had no idea what to cover in such a course.

So, he went to the chair of the department, who told him: "You'll want to start with the real number-line and then progress to inequalit...more

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Aug 30, 2007 Matthew rated it 2 of 5 stars

Hawking is a brilliant physicist and a true expert in explaining highly complex aspects of our physical universe in terms that can be understood by most lay people.

Where Hawking fails, in my opinion, is his hubris. He proceeds in to the realm of metaphysics and religion in several portions of this book. For instance, in his chapter on the "arrow of time", he states that, essentially, the universe can only move in one direction of time. It cannot go backwards. He also states that this limits the...more

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Sep 25, 2007 Daniel rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: general-nonfiction

It is not clear to me who is in the target audience for this book. At times it tries to explain basic concepts of modern physics in simple language, and at other times it assumes a familiarity with the same subject. For the first time I think I "understand" why absolute time is not consistent with relativity theory or that space-time curvature supplants the notion of gravity, and for that I thank the author. There are a few other things I believe I have a glimpse of having (finally) slogged thro...more It is not clear to me who is in the target audience for this book. At times it tries to explain basic concepts of modern physics in simple language, and at other times it assumes a familiarity with the same subject. For the first time I think I "understand" why absolute time is not consistent with relativity theory or that space-time curvature supplants the notion of gravity, and for that I thank the author. There are a few other things I believe I have a glimpse of having (finally) slogged through the book.
On the other hand, there are many places where he writes as if it were clear what he is talking about even though it would require a good deal of background knowledge. To give but one example, he starts talking about summing up over possible world histories (I cannot locate the quotation) without explaining what that would mean. Trained in statistics, I have some idea that he is talking about mathematical expectation in the context of quantum mechanics, but I don't know how another reader might make any sense of it (and I certainly don't have more than a vague notion).
There are irritating writing practices that could have used some editing, e.g., the use of the naked pronominal adjective "this" when in the middle of a dense explanation of an abstruse concept(e.g., "This had serious implications for the ultimate fate of massive stars.").
My biggest complaints, however, are about his philosophical opinions. Obviously he is entitled to think as he wishes about the ultimate questions, but his assertion that his hypothesis of a finite world without beginning or end would leave no place for God seems beside the point. The classic divide has not changed: some folks look around and say stuff just is, and other folks say there's a power behind the stuff that has at least as much going for it as we do. That argument hasn't changed with his theories. At one point in the book he claims that the late John Paul II told gathered scientists that they mustn't inquire into the Big Bang because that was God's territory. I would wager with anyone reading this comment that such an assertion is just plain false. JPII was a flawed mortal, to be sure, but he was no dope; it certainly sounds to me like someone hearing what he thinks the pope would say. (And the Galileo jokes are pretty dumb -- does anyone think that JPII, who apologized for the embarrassing Galileo fiasco, would go after this guy? It must be all that influence the Vatican has had in Britain over the last 400 years that has him scared.)
Other philosophical complaints involve his use of entropy (he defines it first within closed systems and then uses it to explain why the "thermodynamic arrow of time" and the "personal arrow of time" must run in the same direction -- leaping from a box of molecules to the entire universe!), his droning on about what black holes are like when he doesn't know for sure they exist, his statements about "random" and being 95% certain a theory is true (does that mean about 95 out of 100 theories like that are true??). His opinions may be very rich, deep, though-provoking, but how would I (or most general readers) know? You can't really evaluate a judgment unless you know something in the field.
And so that is why I ultimately cannot recommend this book: if you know physics inside and out, you might find his opinions interesting. If you don't, you can only walk around parroting what he says about black holes as if you had a clue what you were talking about. What we all really need is a remedial course in physics!(less)

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Dec 08, 2007 Trevor rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science

The main idea to take away from this book is that time has a clear direction. Entropy is the idea that the universe moves from highly ordered states to less ordered states. If you take the lid off a bottle of perfume, and leave it off for a few days the perfume will go from being highly ordered (all in the bottle) to highly disordered (all over the room).

Hawking uses this idea to explain why travelling back in time is impossible. It requires very little energy to knock a glass over and smash it...more

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Nov 03, 2011 Manny rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: science

Apparently this book tops the world list of "bought but not read", which may explain why it's so universally acclaimed as a work of genius. If you know anything much about relativity or cosmology, it comes across as a potboiler, admittedly a well-written one with a great final sentence. I wasn't impressed.

But... without it, we would never have had MC Hawking. If you haven't come across him, start with the lyrics to "E = MC Hawking". Then buy A Brief History of Rhyme.

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Oct 19, 2009 Annalisa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, non-fiction

Disclaimer: I love math and physics and books that make me feel stupid, as in they are that intelligent. It was interesting learning about the development of science as it refers to the way we think about the universe and how scientific discoveries have been influenced and influence the way people think about God. My favorite section was the discussion of black holes and antimatter.

At times Hawking lost me. He wants to explain theory to the masses, but as he draws near to his own theory, he got...more

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Oct 23, 2009 Laurel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, science

If I had a slightly more evolved brain than I do, or were as brilliantly smart as, say, Stephen Hawking (or my equally brilliant science-minded fiance), I may give this book 4 or 5 stars. I'm pretty certain it deserves 4 or 5 stars. But my brain is only (I like to think) a bit above average. And so, yes, I admit it -- much of this (especially when delving into his own theories) was over my head. And while I found what I did understand absolutely fascinating, I can't really give it more than 3 st...more

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May 13, 2012 Lisa (Harmonybites) rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Science Nerds

Shelves: non-fiction, science, philosophy, ultimate-reading-list

A friend of mine loves this book and has read it more than once. Reassuring, since like me, she doesn't hold a doctorate in the sciences! In fact, as someone who used to do a lot of science reading--I read many a astronomy book by Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan once upon a time--most of the concepts here were very familiar. Well, until we reached the very weird land of quantum mechanics and string theory and imaginary numbers, where I admit I was pretty lost.

Hawking gives the history of the scienc...more A friend of mine loves this book and has read it more than once. Reassuring, since like me, she doesn't hold a doctorate in the sciences! In fact, as someone who used to do a lot of science reading--I read many a astronomy book by Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan once upon a time--most of the concepts here were very familiar. Well, until we reached the very weird land of quantum mechanics and string theory and imaginary numbers, where I admit I was pretty lost.

Hawking gives the history of the science surrounding the ultimate questions of the universe starting from the arguments of Aristotle in 340 B.C. for a round earth to the very strange land of today's physics of quantum mechanics with its different colored quarks and antimatter on the micro level and the strange interstellar beasties of relativistic physics of dark matter, black holes, quasars, and neutron stars and the very weird string theory that might unite both. I do think his explanations are lucid and elegant. I can't remember a better description of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity by explaining its historic relationship to Newton and how the theory tried to answer questions about the relationship between space and time. And Hawking manages to explain some sophisticated concepts without loading the book with jargon or equations. Hawking was also great at explaining how the theory of Relativity fits--or rather doesn't fit--with Quantum Mechanics and the search for a theory that could unify them both. I'm not saying I understood everything in the book. The concepts are counter-intuitive and hard to digest, and there's only so far you can go in explaining difficult subjects in simple terms to people lacking the background. But I understood it better, and certainly got the implications Hawking spelled out.

About the only stylistic quirk I had an issue with was Hawkings refusal to use the B-word. (A Briticism?). I find it a lot easier to wrap my mind around ten billion than "ten thousand million." The edition I read was written in 1996, updated from the first edition from 1988 which was a enormous bestseller. In the Foreword to that revised edition, Hawking wrote he thought that "within a few years we should know whether we can believe that we live in a universe that is completely self-contained and without beginning or end." Hawking definitely leaves me wanting to read more to find out the verdict. Worth reading, although not always easy to grasp.(less)

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Jul 09, 2008 Molly Des Jardin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: science

It was while reading this that I finally had an "aha" moment about why it is that observation can change what you're trying to observe. I was always kind of skeptical of this, because I was wondering "what is it that our eyes do that could possibly affect things?" Stephen Hawking set me straight: it's the tiny speck of light that you have to shoot at what you're trying to observe that affects it. Light bulb is on!

I have an interest in physics, and I have read quite a few books for the layman abo...more It was while reading this that I finally had an "aha" moment about why it is that observation can change what you're trying to observe. I was always kind of skeptical of this, because I was wondering "what is it that our eyes do that could possibly affect things?" Stephen Hawking set me straight: it's the tiny speck of light that you have to shoot at what you're trying to observe that affects it. Light bulb is on!

I have an interest in physics, and I have read quite a few books for the layman about recent physics and cosmology - string theory, the big bang, hyperspace. So I wasn't sure whether I would end up learning something new when I finally got the chance to read this. But it was full of light-bulb moments like the one above - things that I had been wondering about but had never been described in a low-level, concrete sort of way that would make sense for me.

Hawking's writing style made this book a wonderful experience, with a friendly, interested tone that brings the reader in while also expressing his own excitement about the topics. It's a good mix of historical notes, explanations of what exactly went on in the experimental work of science, and also what the implications of those developments are in the big picture - not just the big picture of physics and science, but what developments in physics mean for us as human beings and our understanding of the world around us.

The only weak part of this book, that left me scratching my head and unable to visualize instead of visualizing and getting it for the first time, were the chapters on subatomic particles. Concepts like spin and what exactly antiparticles ARE in a concrete sense (and how they interact with the particles we are familiar with), are still beyond me after this book, but I'm not sure if that's a weakness in Hawking's great power of explanation, or if it's inherent in those ideas themselves to be difficult!

I would recommend this book to absolutely everyone with an interest in the world - you don't have to be a science specialist (I sure am not) or mathematically-inclined to follow it, and it is full of ideas that will make you think (and also understand a lot more of what people are talking about when they reference scientists and concepts from the past).(less)

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Jun 22, 2007 Khalid rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: already-read

This book discusses the origin of the universe, its future, and the way it could have developed to its current state, and bases all that on physics. It dives into the part of physics whose sole aim is to devise a unified theory that describes everything in the universe, or at least do that as much as possible.

The book starts out by discussing theories as they developed, beginning with theories we all are familiar with and consider trivial, and then showing how they have proven to be wrong in des...more This book discusses the origin of the universe, its future, and the way it could have developed to its current state, and bases all that on physics. It dives into the part of physics whose sole aim is to devise a unified theory that describes everything in the universe, or at least do that as much as possible.

The book starts out by discussing theories as they developed, beginning with theories we all are familiar with and consider trivial, and then showing how they have proven to be wrong in describing special events. After that it dives into the theory of relativity, and shows how this theory fails at a certain point. Following that, it discusses quantum mechanics, which seems to become important at the point where the theory of relativity failed.

Then, the book goes on trying to combine these theories along with other ideas to reach the unified theory. It does not exactly get there by the end of the book, but this does not make the book any less wonderful.

A Brief History of Time is not a source of information as much as a mind opener. It provides a new vision of the world, in a form of an interesting model. It does not delve into the physics part of these theories as much as the philosophical part. It shows how human thought tries to solve the problems they have, and more importantly, that we always do not know the full truth, even when we think we do.

Theories discussed in this book all had problems. Many of them we could not even find observations for that match the predictions. However, they are the result of thoughts. They are sometimes merely put based on what we observe, and one more observation simply destroys them.

According to [Stephen Hawking], it has not been proven that time travel is impossible. It has not been done, and it is not likely that it would, but he provides an explanation on how this could be made, if the universe matched some certain models.

This book also shows one very interesting thing. It shows that a big part of science is an attempt to prove the inexistence of God. They keep trying, and it gets harder every time they go further. And even at the end, when Stephen Hawking could get to describe a self-contained boundary-less universe, there was the question of how this universe came to be.

Even if we try to model a perfectly self-contained universe in which no supreme intervention is needed, this does not mean that 1) supreme intervention is not possible, and 2) this universe created its own. The fact that the universe is very sophisticated only suggests that thought should have been put into it, and that it is not created by random.

There is a theory called the anthropic theory, which I understand as: The universe is the way it is because this is the only way there could have been intelligent beings who would at the end ask "How did the universe come to be that way?" and question their very own existence. I personally find this theory very cyclic, and see that it simply calls for the thought of the existence of God anyway.

Another way to get away from the idea of God was to suggest that an infinite number of universes exist, and that we live in this one because it is the one whose properties are suitable for our life. Nice explanation, but why is it more 'sensible' than the idea of a supreme being? It is so simply because it does not expect you to believe in a supreme being, I suppose. I do not deny the thought that God could have created various universes, but that is beside the point.

At any rate, I am just simply providing some of the thoughts that result from reading this book. I enjoyed it to the fullest, and I intend to read its sequel, The Universe In a Nutshell sometime in the future.
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Feb 24, 2009 Greg rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read the Illustrated Brief History of Time because I was hoping it would have helpful visual depictions of the complex theories and concepts that Hawking describes - and it did.

Overall, this book was pretty good, but I guess the biggest problem I had with it was that Hawking never really came out and declared which of the current theories he most subscribes to. He does a great job presenting a mostly unbiased view on the differing theories, but doesn't take a stance on which he thinks is the b...more

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Jul 10, 2008 Michael Lawrence rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Plato

Recommended to Michael by: Stephen Hawking

Shelves: space-science-philosophy

Copy from a briefer history review since very similar books.

It surprises me how disinterested we are today about things like physics, space, the universe and philosophy of our existence, our purpose, our final destination.

That was somehow lost in our information generation. So like I said, if this tiny take on life and physics gets into more hands then horray. Its a crazy world out there. Be curious.

This book takes topics like general relativity, quantum theory, string theory, the universe, it;...more

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Nov 14, 2011 Paul marked it as assorted-rants-about-stuff

I'm just using this space here to direct your attention to the following amusing project

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/books...

Essentially, as you may know, Christian Marclay assembled a 24 hour film out of clips from zillions of movies. Each clip features the TIME on a clock or watch or in the dialogue, and of course it's all in order, and the film runs continuously, so if you start watching it at 4.17 there you will see a clip where it's 4.17 in some Jimmy cagney movie from 1936... etc etc......more

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Jun 02, 2008 Nate Jordon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Hawking presents a scientific and philosophical view of the universe via the most complicated theories of mathematics and science in layman's terms. That said, the book requires a second reading. There's so much intriguing information in the book's 191 pages that on a first reading, I believe it would be difficult for anyone (without advanced knowledge of astrophysics, quantum mechanics, etc.) to conceptualize all the book contains and postulates. Nonetheless, an incredible book for anyone askin...more

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Sep 06, 2011 Bassaimer added it · review of another edition

Usando spazi-tempi euclidei, in cui la direzione del tempo è sullo stesso piano delle direzioni dello spazio, c'è la possibilità che lo spazio-tempo sia finito e che nondimeno non abbia alcuna singolarità che ne formi un confine o un bordo. Lo spazio-tempo sarebbe allora come la superficie della Terra, con l'unica differenza di avere quattro dimensioni anzichè due.
[...]ci troviamo di fronte allo stesso problema [...]: può darsi che Dio sappia come ha avuto inizio l'universo, ma noi non possiamo...more

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May 01, 2013 Antony rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: physical-math-science

For a book of this nature, I feel it is necessary to preface my review by disclosing the background of the reviewer. I have no formal background in physics beyond the Newtonian mechanics that everyone learns, and a dilettante’s interest, fed by occasional Wikipedia readings and popular science media. This, I think, makes me a good representative of the intended audience for this book, which incidentally sports only one formula (E = mc2).

A Brief History of Time is really a brief history of theore...more For a book of this nature, I feel it is necessary to preface my review by disclosing the background of the reviewer. I have no formal background in physics beyond the Newtonian mechanics that everyone learns, and a dilettante’s interest, fed by occasional Wikipedia readings and popular science media. This, I think, makes me a good representative of the intended audience for this book, which incidentally sports only one formula (E = mc2).

A Brief History of Time is really a brief history of theoretical physics, from Aristotle to late eighties, when the book was published. In the first half of the book, the narrative moves quickly from Aristotelian, Copernican, Galilean, and Newtonian cosmologies to general relativity and the quantum model. The discussion progresses rather linearly, as contemporary theories and observed phenomena alternate in explaining and puzzling. On the whole, I felt satisfied with the author’s explanation of this logical progression and of the underlying theories.

The highlight for me came in chapter five, where Hawking discusses elementary particles. Prior to reading this book, I had some knowledge of quarks and an awareness that many other subatomic particles existed, but I was blissfully ignorant of the major categories and relationships. Hawking filled this fundamental gap with a straightforward explanation. So, if you are in the dark about the differences between bosons, fermions, gluons, and muons, and how these relate to physical forces, Hawking will pull you into the light.

Past chapter five, however, things started getting somewhat murkier. As Hawking gets into what is presumably the main theme of the book – the origin and fate of the universe, which is also the title of chapter 8 – the pace of delivery quickens, the concepts get more abstract, the pile of discarded theories grows, and the number of named physicists explodes. The effect is somewhat dizzying, challenging the reader to find order in a whirlwind of concepts. Of course, Hawking is merely reflecting a more complex reality to emerge with new science and technology, especially since the 1960’s. Still, I have to wonder if a way could have been found to isolate the key ideas and to present them in a neater fashion.

Things settle down again for the last three chapters, where Hawking elaborates his “no boundary” proposal, introduces string theory, discusses the future direction of physics, and muses on the broader philosophical implications.

By and large, A Brief History of Time is successful in reducing the accumulated body of scientific knowledge about the nature of the universe to key constructs comprehensible to a non-specialist. After reading this book, I feel pulled to explore the more recent attempts at the same goal by such authors as Brian Greene. To anyone interested in this book’s themes, I also heartily recommend a video lecture from The Teaching Company, Einstein’s Relativity and the Quantum Revolution.(less)

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Apr 25, 2013 Dodoo Ahmed rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

بما ان اختصاص الكتاب ليس من اهتماماتي فق قرأته قراءة سريعة و لم أحاول التعمق في النظريات و المعادلات الفيزيائية و تجاوزن عت اي شيء مما لم أفهمه .. دفعني لقراءته الفصول فخرجت منه بمعلومات أجدها قيمة و اضافت لي بما اني ما كنت لأعرفها لولا قراءتي الكتاب أوجزها فيما يلي:

1- نيوتن قد وضع نظرية للجاذبية الكونية
كل جسم في الكون ينجذب الى جسم اخر بقوة تزيد شدتها كلما زادت كتلة الاجسام و كلما زادت قربا أحدها من الآخر

2- رأى نيوتن ان حسب قانونة القمر يدور حول الارض لانه اكثر قربا و الارض اكبر حجما
و الاررض و...more

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Apr 19, 2013 Dianne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013

I have an interest in theoretical physics, but it's a regular person's interest. I like reading about black holes and event horizons and I like science fiction shows that play around with those concepts. I was well aware that Stephen Hawking is far out of my league, but I had read that he wrote this for non-scientists and such so I thought I'd give it a shot.

I had some specific things in mind before I started. I wanted a better understanding of black holes, Einstein's theory of relativity and qu...more

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Apr 12, 2013 Patrick Ellard rated it 3 of 5 stars

A Brief History of Time is one of the most well known "popular science" books ever written as well as one of the bestselling. Written by the brilliant physicist Stephen Hawking it attempts to explain the fundamental workings of the universe in terms that a layman can understand. Unfortunately though it is not a complete success despite how popular the book is.

The problem with the book is this; it never quite knows who its target audience is. On one hand it tries to explain extremely complicated...more

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Feb 28, 2013 Josh Singer rated it 5 of 5 stars

This week I decided to read “A Brief History of Time” by Stephen Hawking; in this tome, Hawking provides a brief exposé on theoretical physics and the challenges of partial theories. The myriad of topics in this book cover general relativity, special relativity, particle physics, the uncertainty principle, and event horizons. I would say that Hawking isn’t the best writer, but he surely knows how to concisely overview quantum physics for the general public.
The concepts in this book are convolu...more

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Feb 15, 2013 Tyler rated it 2 of 5 stars

The fact that this book is supposed to be a "theoretical physics for dummies," and I still could not glean much from it, is probably indicative of my total lack of understanding on this subject. It's supposed to be spelled out in layman's terms, but I found myself struggling what seemed to me total non-sequitors that filled every chapter. I simply can't understand why certain assumptions about the unfathomable universe can be made by "canceling out infinities" and "arrows of time." Presumably th...more

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Feb 07, 2013 Al rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A landmark volume in science writing by one of the great minds of our time, Stephen Hawking’s book explores such profound questions as: How did the universe begin—and what made its start possible? Does time always flow forward? Is the universe unending—or are there boundaries? Are there other dimensions in space? What will happen when it all ends?

Told in language we all can understand, A Brief History of Time plunges into the exotic realms of black holes and quarks,

...more

1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Told in language we all can understand, A Brief History of Time plunges into the exotic realms of black holes and quarks, of antimatter and “arrows of time,” of the big bang and a bigger God—where the possibilities are wondrous and unexpected. With exciting images and profound imagination, Stephen Hawking brings us closer to the ultimate secrets at the very heart of creation.

Amazon.com Review

Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists in history, wrote the modern classic A Brief History of Time to help nonscientists understand the questions being asked by scientists today: Where did the universe come from? How and why did it begin? Will it come to an end, and if so, how? Hawking attempts to reveal these questions (and where we're looking for answers) using a minimum of technical jargon. Among the topics gracefully covered are gravity, black holes, the Big Bang, the nature of time, and physicists' search for a grand unifying theory. This is deep science; these concepts are so vast (or so tiny) as to cause vertigo while reading, and one can't help but marvel at Hawking's ability to synthesize this difficult subject for people not used to thinking about things like alternate dimensions. The journey is certainly worth taking, for, as Hawking says, the reward of understanding the universe may be a glimpse of "the mind of God." --Therese Littleton

Review

“[Hawking] can explain the complexities of cosmological physics with an engaging combination of clarity and wit. . . . His is a brain of extraordinary power.”—The New York Review of Books

“This book marries a child’s wonder to a genius’s intellect. We journey into Hawking’s universe while marvelling at his mind.”—The Sunday Times (London)

“Masterful.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Charming and lucid . . . [A book of] sunny brilliance.”—The New Yorker

“Lively and provocative . . . Mr. Hawking clearly possesses a natural teacher’s gifts—easy, good-natured humor and an ability to illustrate highly complex propositions with analogies plucked from daily life.”—The New York Times

“Even as he sits helpless in his wheelchair, his mind seems to soar ever more brilliantly across the vastness of space and time to unlock the secrets of the universe.”—Time

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Dec 10, 2012 Smcleish rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Originally published on my blog here in August 2001.

It is difficult, from the contents of A Brief History of Time, to see how it managed, famously, to become the least read bestseller of the twentieth century. The answer, of course, is the romance of Hawking's life and the way in which he was able to overcome his disability.

The book itself, in this revised edition marking the tenth anniversary of the original publication, is a clear account of modern cosmology from one of the subject's leading r...more

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Dec 03, 2012 Jenny williams rated it 5 of 5 stars

No words can truly describe how well written of a novel Stephen Hawking has wrote with his publishing of A Brief History of Time. No one in this entire world can explain the process and principals of theoretical physics as Stephen Hawking. A Brief History of Time absolutely nailed down our concept of time and how it can be manipulated which is the first time anyone has actually been able to explain it for most readers to understand. After reading the selection in his book about how our time is s...more

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Nov 25, 2012 Nate Dimelfi rated it 1 of 5 stars

I did not find this book as what I had expected. I picked this book knowing quite well that it wasn't a story book in any way, but a scientific book on the field of cosmology. I found that Stephen Hawking, "A very decorated scientist in the field of cosmology" didn't do such great job explaining what he and other scientists from his time and before discovered. He answered more of his questions with questions that countered what he was saying on the page before. He might say that the universe is...more

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Sep 27, 2012 Jade rated it 4 of 5 stars

I started reading this book with the mindset that "it was a must" in science literature, and that I should therefore make my own opinion of it.

In retrospect, I really enjoyed it. It mostly served as a good refresher for a lot of freshman physics I have seen a couple of years ago, particularly the first half of the book where Hawking explains the ground work on which he built his own theories. The historical part of the book was great not only because of the content, but because we can also see...more

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Sep 14, 2012 David Hockstein rated it 5 of 5 stars

Over the summer I read “A Brief History of Time” by Stephen Hawking. In it, Hawking describes how our understanding of physics has changed over time. He attempts to explain this in a way that he thinks most people will understand. It is for this reason that he doesn’t use very much math in it, although he does include one equation (E = mc2). Early on he explains how our original conception of the Universe involved the sun, moon, stars, and other planets revolving around the earth. We later learn...more Over the summer I read “A Brief History of Time” by Stephen Hawking. In it, Hawking describes how our understanding of physics has changed over time. He attempts to explain this in a way that he thinks most people will understand. It is for this reason that he doesn’t use very much math in it, although he does include one equation (E = mc2). Early on he explains how our original conception of the Universe involved the sun, moon, stars, and other planets revolving around the earth. We later learned that while the moon does revolve around us, we and the other planets revolve around the sun. We also know that the sun is but one star, and that many other starts have planets revolving around them, in what is known as solar systems. There are billions of solar systems in our galaxy, the Milky Way, and there are an unknowably large, possibly infinite, number of galaxies in the universe. From here he explains how Newton’s theory of gravity was, while revolutionary, flawed in some aspects, which were corrected by Einstein’s theory of relativity. He also explains why black holes form due to gravity, and how they’re not really black; in actuality, their gravitational force is so large that light can escape them to enter back into our eyes (Or telescopes).

He contrasts the general theory of relativity with the quantum theory. He explained that we come up with theories to explain our observations so far. From there, we do experiments that can either contradict the theory, or fulfill what the theory predicts. However, a theory can never be truly proven; if one trial contradicts the theory, even if the rest fulfill it, then the theory cannot be true. There simply must be another theory that predicts all the outcomes. In the case of the theory of relativity, it predicts how essentially all things we see in the world work. However, it fails to predict how things the size of an atom works. Quantum theory however, does predict microscopic thins. Because neither theory predicts the result of all experiments, neither theory can really be true. Rather, there must be a theory that predicts how everything works; a unified theory of science. Over the course of the book I became increasingly curious what a unified theory would look like, what it would take to find it, and how useful it would be to us. I also wanted to know more about the rate at which the universe in expanding; I found that section of the book to be one of the most compelling. I’ve also heard that the book is slightly outdated, and I’m interested to know more about our achievements in Science since then.
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Sep 14, 2012 Sophie Gell added it

The book I read over the summer was A Brief History In Time, By Stephen Hawking. Hawking describes a timeline of how humans have gone from theory to theory about time and space, and what we’ve discovered about then over the years. Hawking gathered all the information through extensive research. Also, he’s a genius.

Hawkings explained connections between time, space, and physics. He shows how people use what they know about space and physics to lear about time, and vice versa. He talks about how...more

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Sep 07, 2012 Mark Galassi rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I should have loved this book because at the time I read it I was working in that area, but I found it barely OK. This is probably a problem with how to present scientific material: it is hard to make everyone happy, and popular works are often annoying to practicing scientists.

On the other hand I have *loved* A Short History of Nearly Everything and Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem, finding them as gripping as a thriller.

I think the main problem...more

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About Stephen Hawking

Stephen William Hawking was born on 8 January 1942 in Oxford, England. His parents' house was in north London, but during the second world war Oxford was considered a safer place to have babies. When he was eight, his family moved to St Albans, a town about 20 miles north of London. At eleven Stephen went to St Albans School, and then on to University College, Oxford, his father's old college. Ste...more Stephen William Hawking was born on 8 January 1942 in Oxford, England. His parents' house was in north London, but during the second world war Oxford was considered a safer place to have babies. When he was eight, his family moved to St Albans, a town about 20 miles north of London. At eleven Stephen went to St Albans School, and then on to University College, Oxford, his father's old college. Stephen wanted to do Mathematics, although his father would have preferred medicine. Mathematics was not available at University College, so he did Physics instead. After three years and not very much work he was awarded a first class honours degree in Natural Science.

Stephen then went on to Cambridge to do research in Cosmology, there being no-one working in that area in Oxford at the time. His supervisor was Denis Sciama, although he had hoped to get Fred Hoyle who was working in Cambridge. After gaining his Ph.D. he became first a Research Fellow, and later on a Professorial Fellow at Gonville and Caius College. After leaving the Institute of Astronomy in 1973 Stephen came to the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, and since 1979 has held the post of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. The chair was founded in 1663 with money left in the will of the Reverend Henry Lucas, who had been the Member of Parliament for the University. It was first held by Isaac Barrow, and then in 1669 by Isaac Newton.

Stephen Hawking has worked on the basic laws which govern the universe. With Roger Penrose he showed that Einstein's General Theory of Relativity implied space and time would have a beginning in the Big Bang and an end in black holes. These results indicated it was necessary to unify General Relativity with Quantum Theory, the other great Scientific development of the first half of the 20th Century. One consequence of such a unification that he discovered was that black holes should not be completely black, but should emit radiation and eventually evaporate and disappear. Another conjecture is that the universe has no edge or boundary in imaginary time. This would imply that the way the universe began was completely determined by the laws of science.

His many publications include The Large Scale Structure of Spacetime with G.F.R. Ellis, General Relativity: An Einstein Centenary Survey, with W. Israel, and 300 Years of Gravity, with W. Israel. Stephen Hawking has three popular books published; his best seller A Brief History of Time, Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays and most recently in 2001, The Universe in a Nutshell. There are .pdf and .ps versions of his full publication list.

Professor Hawking has twelve honorary degrees, was awarded the CBE in 1982, and was made a Companion of Honour in 1989. He is the recipient of many awards, medals and prizes and is a Fellow of The Royal Society and a Member of the US National Academy of Sciences.

Stephen Hawking continues to combine family life (he has three children and one grandchild), and his research into theoretical physics together with an extensive programme of travel and public lectures. (less)

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Quotes from A Brief History of Time

“Even if there is only one possible unified theory, it is just a set of rules and equations. What is it that breathes fire into the equations and makes a universe for them to describe? The usual approach of science of constructing a mathematical model cannot answer the questions of why there should be a universe for the model to describe. Why does the universe go to all the bother of existing?” — 399 people liked it

“A well-known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell) once gave a public lecture on astronomy. He described how the earth orbits around the sun and how the sun, in turn, orbits around the center of a vast collection of stars called our galaxy. At teh end of the lecture, a little old lady at the back of the room got up and said: "What you have told us is rubbish. The world is really a flat plate supported on the back of a giant tortoise." The scientist gave a superior smile before replying, "What is the tortoise standing on?" "You're very clever, young man, very clever, " said the old lady. "But it turtles all the way down!” — 27 people liked it

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