Stephen Hawking one of the world’s greatest living scientists, passed away on March 14th, 2018 at the age of 76.
The scientific community lost on of its best and brightest thinkers since Albert Einstein. Hawking was best known for his work on “The Big Bang Theory,” as well as “Black Holes.” Hawking died at home in Cambridge early on Wednesday. His family noted to the public that it was a peaceful transition.
His life was remarkable. While starting his remarkable career, he encountered a struggle that would help define his life. At 22, diagnosed with a rare form of motor neuron disease. This disease confined him to a wheelchair, unable to speak except through the aid of a voice animated computer system first created by Intel. This did not stop his genius, as he continued to redefine physics across the world.
In a comment shared with a picture via Twitter, famed Black astrophysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson described the monumental loss of Hawking, actually comparing his loss to a black hole.
Tyson, who is no slouch to physics himself his best known for his show Cosmos on Fox, seemed to take the loss hard. Tyson who is Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space in New York City, is an Astrophysicist who is widely regarded like Bill Nye for making science accessible to the masses.
His passing has left an intellectual vacuum in his wake. But it's not empty. Think of it as a kind of vacuum energy permeating the fabric of spacetime that defies measure. Stephen Hawking, RIP 1942-2018. pic.twitter.com/nAanMySqkt
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) March 14, 2018
There is no surprise why Tyson’s admiration of the famed scientist who blended Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity with quantum theory. (Hawking believed that universe started and will end with black holes). Tyson was the first American awarded Stephen Hawking medal at the Starmus festival on June 6th, 2017. In an interview below with Larry King on the 7th, he gushed over the accomplishments and the work of Hawking.
“We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today. He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years. His courage and persistence with his brilliance and humor inspired people across the world. He once said, ‘It would not be much of a universe if it wasn’t home to the people you love.’ We will miss him forever.”
Remembering Stephen Hawking, a renowned physicist and ambassador of science. His theories unlocked a universe of possibilities that we & the world are exploring. May you keep flying like superman in microgravity, as you said to astronauts on @Space_Station in 2014 pic.twitter.com/FeR4fd2zZ5
— NASA (@NASA) March 14, 2018