Contemporary · Britain
Stephen Hawking
1942-2018
Their story
Why Stephen Hawking matters
Hawking connected quantum theory, gravity and thermodynamics in studies of black holes.
Stephen Hawking worked in Britain during the Contemporary era. Today's researchers can combine powerful computers, international teams and extremely precise instruments, while also considering how discoveries affect society and the planet.
Questions in cosmology often require connecting small local observations with events happening across enormous distances or spans of time. Stephen Hawking helped make that connection measurable and understandable.
Key discovery or invention
Black-hole radiation and the physics of the universe.
Stephen Hawking's central contribution was black-hole radiation and the physics of the universe.
The discovery turned observations of the sky or Earth into evidence about a much larger system. Measurements, maps, specimens or mathematical models made changes across distance and time easier to recognise.
Why it still matters: Today's observatories, satellites, field surveys and computer models continue to ask larger versions of the same questions. Stephen Hawking's work is one chapter in that continuing story rather than the final word.
Hawking radiation predicts that black holes can slowly lose energy.