Biography
Stephen Hawking united general relativity and quantum mechanics at the edge of black holes, predicting in 1974 that they slowly radiate and shrink — Hawking radiation. With Roger Penrose he proved that the universe must have begun in a singularity. His best-seller A Brief History of Time made cosmology a global conversation.
Scientific contributions
- Predicted that black holes emit radiation (Hawking radiation)
- Developed the theorems on spacetime singularities with Penrose
- Wrote A Brief History of Time (1988)
Major publications
Knowledge connections
- Part ofContemporary Astronomy
- PublishedA Brief History of Time
- StudiesGravitational Singularity
- StudiesHawking Radiation
- StudiesBlack Hole
Sources & references
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- BritannicaEncyclopaedia Britannica
General reference for the history of astronomy, biographies, and cultural context.
- NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.