Stephen Hawking : update ; critically ill

dexa

Physicist Hawking gets taste of zero-gravity
By Irene Klotz

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - British physicist Stephen Hawking took a flight on Thursday that gave the renowned scientist, who is confined to a wheelchair, a taste of the weightlessness of space.

Hawking, 65, and an entourage of caretakers and other thrill-seekers took off from the space shuttle's runway at the Kennedy Space Center in a specially modified jet that dives through the sky to give passengers an experience of zero gravity.

British physicist Stephen Hawking (in wheelchair) is seen after his ZERO-G flight at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida April 26, 2007. Hawking took a flight on Thursday that gave the renowned scientist, who is confined to a wheelchair, a taste of the weightlessness of space. (REUTERS/Charles W Luzier)

They returned to the space center in Florida about two hours later after doing eight of the dives, giving him four minutes of weightlessness.

"It was amazing," Hawking said afterwards.

"Space here I come," he said, referring to his hope that the experience will prepare him for a real sub-orbital space flight in the future.

Hawking acknowledged before the flight that experiencing weightlessness, even for a few seconds, would be sweet relief from the bondage of a daily life immobilized by a debilitating and irreversible neuromuscular disorder.

"I have been wheelchair-bound for almost four decades and the chance to float free in zero G will be wonderful," Hawking told a pre-flight news conference.

The acclaimed cosmologist and best-selling author of "A Brief History of Time," who has posited theories to help explain black holes and other celestial phenomena, lost his ability for natural speech after a tracheotomy that followed a bout of pneumonia in 1985.

He speaks with the aid of a computer-controlled voice synthesizer.

Hawking said in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday that he feared that the human race did not have a future if it didn't go into space.

"I therefore want to encourage public interest in space. A zero-gravity flight is the first step towards space travel," he said.

"Life on Earth is at an ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster such as sudden global warming, nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus or other dangers," Hawking added at the news conference.

In a reference to his affliction, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, Hawking noted that his flight also would serve as a demonstration that "everybody can participate in this type of experience."

During these flights, participants experience at least one free-fall, lasting about 25 seconds, where they float up from the floor. The maneuver is accomplished as the plane flies toward the ground following a steep climb.

The ride, which normally costs $3,500, was courtesy of Florida-based Zero Gravity Corp., which operates a commercial zero-gravity service similar to what NASA uses to train astronauts.

Hawking hopes to make a suborbital spaceflight aboard a new passenger service being developed by Virgin Atlantic Airway's offshoot, Virgin Galactic, expected to begin in 2009.

HOW DID HUMANS COME INTO EXISTENCE?

Hawking's insights about black holes have opened new avenues of thinking about the nature of the universe and helped resolve troubling areas of physics where the laws of nature appear to break down.

Of all the universe's mysteries, Hawking said he would most like to know how it is that humans have come into existence.

"The universe is so big, so smooth and yet just right enough for us to exist," Hawking said in the interview.

Speaking with Hawking is a slow, meditative experience. He twitches one of the few muscles still in his control -- his cheek -- to scroll through word lists stored in his computer. Constructing a 35-word sentence takes 15 minutes and leaves him fatigued.

Still, Hawking doesn't wait for a question to converse.

A quip about Hawking's robotic voice having a nice British accent, prompts him to reply, "Most people think my accent is American."

Later, when asked about the prospects of intelligent life beyond Earth, Hawking said he hopes it exists.

"There is not much sign of it on Earth," he said.


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one of my favourite  authors - stephen hawking
a physicist from britain --
his bestseller book  --  A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME -


thats the first time i read about hawkings
and amazed about his intellectual and wisdom -

[ Last edited by  amazed at 21-4-2009 20:40 ]

Sephiroth

It could be nice since he had been bounded by the wheelchair for over 20 yrs.

dexa

Originally posted by Sephiroth at 28-4-2007 08:13 AM
It could be nice since he had been bounded by the wheelchair for over 20 yrs.

an awesome gesture for someone who has been contributes
lots in world of physics  --

[ Last edited by  dexa at 25-10-2008 06:47 AM ]

aku_EnSeM

Stephen Hawking, 66, Will Retire                           

Cosmologist Stephen Hawking plans to retire next year. The 66-year-old author of the popular science bestseller A Brief History of Time became famous for his theories about gravity, black holes, the big bang, and the nature of time.

Hawking, the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at CambridgeUniversity (a position once held by Isaac Newton), plans to step downat the end of the academic year, in accordance with a University policyof retirement at the end of the academic year in which officeholdersturn 67, the Associated Press reports.
Another 66-year-old scientist at Cambridge, Peter Lawrence, arguesagainst mandatory retirement ages for scientists in the May issue ofthe science journal Nature,saying that many well-known scientists have done excellent work aftertraditional retirement age. "Mandatory retirement policies condone andinstitutionalize discrimination," he writes.

But Hawking, who is paralyzed by motor neuron disease, intends tocontinue his exploration of time and space at Cambridge in a smallerrole. He believes that space exploration may be the key to the survivalof the human race.

Hawking told CNNearlierthis month that if humans can survive the next 200 years and learn tolive in space, then our future will be bright. "I believe that thelong-term future of the human race must be in space," he said. "It willbe difficult enough to avoid disaster on planet Earth in the next 100years, let alone next thousand, or million. The human race shouldn'thave all its eggs in one basket, or on one planet. Let's hope we canavoid dropping the basket until we have spread the load."


Source: http://www.usnews.com/blogs/plan ... 66-will-retire.html


Sekian... Uhuhuhuh

[ Last edited by  aku_EnSeM at 28-10-2008 03:00 PM ]

mbhcsf

well how much does his motor neurons disease progress? he's still breathing on his  own , kan? that means well he 's still ok lagi ler, though his voice is gone

aku_EnSeM

Stephen Hawking skrg tgh sakit, kene hanta hospital...

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Scientist and author StephenHawking is "very ill" and has been hospitalized, according to CambridgeUniversity, where he is a professor.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Stephen Hawking in Pasadena, California in March.





                                                                                                                                          Cambridge University said the 67-year-old is "comfortable" and will stay overnight at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge.

Hawking, one of the world's most famous physicists, is also a cosmologist, astronomer, and mathematician.

Wheelchair-bound Hawking is perhaps most famous for "A Brief History ofTime" which explored the origins of the universe in layman's terms, isconsidered a modern classic.

Hawking has Lou Gehrig's Disease(Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS), which is usually fatal afterthree years.

Hawking has survived for more than 40 years since hisdiagnosis.

On his Web site, Hawking has written about livingwith ALS. "I try to lead as normal a life as possible, and not thinkabout my condition, or regret the things it prevents me from doing,which are not that many," he wrote.

He added: "I have beenlucky, that my condition has progressed more slowly than is often thecase. But it shows that one need not lose hope."

The disease hasleft him paralyzed -- he is able to move only a few fingers on onehand. Hawking is completely dependent on others or technology forvirtually everything -- bathing, dressing, eating, even speech. He usesa speech synthesizer with an American accent. [url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/04/20/hawking.health/index.html#cnnSTCVideo]Watch Larry King's interview with Hawking in 1999 籟/url]

Hawking has been married and divorced twice. In 2004, police completedan investigation into accusations by Hawking's daughter that his secondwife was abusing him. Authorities said they found no proof.

His Web site says he has three children and one grandchild.

Hawking was born in Oxford, England, on what turned out to be anauspicious date: January 8, 1942 -- the 300th anniversary of the deathof astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei.

A CambridgeUniversity spokesman told CNN: " Professor Hawking is very ill and hasbeen taken by ambulance to Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge."

Professor Peter Haynes, head of the university's department of AppliedMathematics and Theoretical Physics, said: " Professor Hawking is aremarkable colleague, we all hope he will be amongst us again soon."

At Cambridge, he holds the position of Lucasian Professor Mathematics-- the prestigious post held from 1669 to 1702 by Sir Isaac Newton.

Hawking has guest-starred, as himself, on Star Trek: The NextGeneration and The Simpsons. He also said if he had the choice ofmeeting Newton or Marilyn Monroe, his choice would be Marilyn.

In October, CNN's Becky Anderson interviewed Hawking. The following are some quotes from that interview:
"Over the last twenty years, observations have to a large extentconfirmed the picture I painted in 'A Brief History of Time.'


The onemajor development that was not anticipated was the discovery that theexpansion of the universe is accelerating now, rather than slowingdown... We live in the most probable of all possible worlds." [url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/04/20/hawking.health/index.html#cnnSTCVideo]Watch the CNN interview 籟/url]
                        
                        


"I believe that the long-term future ofthe human race must be in space. It will be difficult enough to avoiddisaster on planet Earth in the next hundred years, let alone nextthousand, or million."

"I see great dangersfor the human race ... but I'm an optimist. If we can avoid disasterfor the next two centuries, our species should be safe as we spreadinto space."

apit_skynet

salah sorang bijak pandai pada abad ni...kesian....aku pon tumpang simpati...

cidacitot

semangat kuat giler dia nih... tabik springgg.. malaysia tanak bagi dato' ke kat dia?

abgboroi

kesian dier ni..dulu bini dia buat hal...

aku_EnSeM

sape lg ek ahli fizik famous skrg yg masih hidup? we need an expert...

mbhcsf

well.........hmm..........well...supportuve treatment / palliative care

aku_EnSeM

Tajuk die Stephen Hawking critically ill, tapi news psl die feel zero-G?

amazed

aku kan dah update kan.. berapa banyak nak buat thread dia...  tee hee

aku_EnSeM

Letak tajuk......

"Stephen Hawking -> Biography"

Biography ke perkataan die?

dexa

excellent book -
saya dapat buku ni masa christmas dulu -
memang best -- a great book -

'we do we come from' --  

aku_EnSeM

Yup..

But there is a problem with Hawking's books.

Try to buy another book, and the content is very much similar to this one. In fact, his writings are similar to one another.

amazed

God did not create the universe, says Hawking




AFP/File – God no longer has any place
in theories on the creation of the Universe
due to a series of developments …

By Michael Holden Michael Holden – Thu Sep 2,

LONDON (Reuters) – God did not create the universe and the "Big Bang" was an inevitable consequence of the laws of physics, the eminent British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking argues in a new book.

In "The Grand Design," co-authored with U.S. physicist Leonard Mlodinow, Hawking says a new series of theories made a creator of the universe redundant, according to the Times newspaper which published extracts on Thursday.

"Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist," Hawking writes.

"It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going."

Hawking, 68, who won global recognition with his 1988 book "A Brief History of Time," an account of the origins of the universe, is renowned for his work on black holes, cosmology and quantum gravity.

Since 1974, the scientist has worked on marrying the two cornerstones of modern physics -- Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, which concerns gravity and large-scale phenomena, and quantum theory, which covers subatomic particles.

His latest comments suggest he has broken away from previous views he has expressed on religion. Previously, he wrote that the laws of physics meant it was simply not necessary to believe that God had intervened in the Big Bang.

He wrote in A Brief History ... "If we discover a complete theory, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason -- for then we should know the mind of God."

In his latest book, he said the 1992 discovery of a planet orbiting another star other than the Sun helped deconstruct the view of the father of physics Isaac Newton that the universe could not have arisen out of chaos but was created by God.

"That makes the coincidences of our planetary conditions -- the single Sun, the lucky combination of Earth-Sun distance and solar mass, far less remarkable, and far less compelling evidence that the Earth was carefully designed just to please us human beings," he writes.

Hawking, who is only able to speak through a computer-generated voice synthesizer, has a neuro muscular dystrophy that has progressed over the years and left him almost completely paralyzed.

He began suffering the disease in his early 20s but went on to establish himself as one of the world's leading scientific authorities, and has also made guest appearances in "Star Trek" and the cartoons "Futurama" and "The Simpsons."

Last year he announced he was stepping down as Cambridge University's Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, a position once held by Newton and one he had held since 1979.

"The Grand Design" is due to go on sale next week.

wei_loon5063

Stephen Hawking skrg tgh sakit, kene hanta hospital...

aku_EnSeM Post at 21-4-2009 17:36

he is my second idol after einstein.. a truly living legend....

wei_loon5063

excellent book -
saya dapat buku ni masa christmas dulu -
memang best -- a great book -

' ...
dexa Post at 26-4-2009 09:07

just sharing.. a website from china

http://www.tom365.com/movie_2004/html/8355.html

there are lots of movie and documentary and this that i shared is they make a documentary out of hawking`s speech....

to watch, to to left bottom and download Qvod player.. after that, you can watch it like youtube, it load and download to your PC at the same time...

Pss.... SALT is also in there

arssdili

malang nya hawking ni. kat dunia sudah lah tidak sempurna hidup nya, lepas mati nanti lagi lah malang selamanya2

moga ia diberi hidayah islam , amin