Stephen Hawking Expected To Beat Infection

Renowned Physicist Still Under Observation, But Family Looking For A "Full Recovery"

(AP)  Cambridge University said Tuesday the family of physicist Stephen Hawking expects him to recover fully from a chest infection that has left him hospitalized.

The university issued a statement saying that Hawking "was being kept in observation" at Addenbrooke's hospital.

The statement said Hawking's family was "looking forward to a full recovery."

Hawking, 67, gained renown for his work on black holes and has remained active despite being diagnosed at age 21 with ALS, (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), an incurable degenerative disorder also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Hawking has been almost entirely paralyzed for years and communicates through an electronic voice synthesizer activated by his fingers.

Hawking was involved in the search for the great goal of physics - a "unified theory" - which would resolve contradictions between Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, which describes the laws of gravity that govern the motion of large objects like planets, and the Theory of Quantum Mechanics, which deals with the world of subatomic particles.

"A complete, consistent unified theory is only the first step: our goal is a complete understanding of the events around us, and of our own existence," he wrote in his best-selling book, "A Brief History of Time," published in 1988.

In a more accessible sequel "The Universe in a Nutshell," published in 2001, Hawking ventured into concepts like supergravity, naked singularities and the possibility of a universe with 11 dimensions.

He announced last year that he would step down from his post as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, a title once held by the great 18th-century physicist Isaac Newton. However, the university said Hawking intended to continue working as Emeritus Lucasian Professor of Mathematics.

Hawking had canceled an appearance at Arizona State University on April 6 because of his illness.

"Professor Hawking is a remarkable colleague. We all hope he will be amongst us again soon," said Professor Peter Haynes, head of the university's Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics.

[spiritwalk]

To: Spiritwalk :

"Einstein for instance was obsessed with proving his theory of special relativity so he could get the credit for a great discovery."

and just how did you arrive at that outrageous conclusion??
Posted by tkjtkj
........................................................
I have read his biographies and if you had done the same you would know that Einstein was obsessed with personal recognition.

His desire to discredit the theory of Quantum mechanics because he felt is was trying to discredit his theory of special relativity was part of that obsession. The fact is that the theory of special realtivity and the theory of quantum mechanics do contadict each other. That is the paradox. Though each is scientifically verifiable indpendently, they don't work together, which is why there is an ungoing attempt to find a unifying theory, such as the current popular attempt at the so called string theory.

Einstein however took the introduction of quantum theory to be a personal attack and an attempt to undermine and discredit him in the scientific community.

All of which you would know if you just did a little googling of the subject, if not the reading about on the subject.

Just google einstein and quantum mechanics and you find the story for yourself and you will also find that things are not so outrageous if you find out a little about them.

[tkjtkj]

To: Spiritwalk :

"Einstein for instance was obsessed with proving his theory of special relativity so he could get the credit for a great discovery."

and just how did you arrive at that outrageous conclusion??

[tkjtkj]

This is, indeed, hopeful news!!!
Get well soon, Dr. Hawking!!!
You've put such a 'human touch' on the world of physics. We are indebted to you!

[spiritwalk]

I think the true genius of Stephen Hawking lies not in the answers he finds, but in the questions he asks.

Most scientists are looking for recognition for being right about some idea they have. Einstein for instance was obsessed with proving his theory of special relativity so he could get the credit for a great discovery.

Professor hawking is just the opposite. He comes up with an interesting question about something and he wants to find the answer, not for his own personal glory, but just to find the answer. So, he throws out a theory and backs it with a bet. Other physicists want desperately to prove him wrong and they work feverishly to find an answer and rub it in his face.

The last time he did that he had a question about the nature of black holes and tossed out a theory. He made a bet with another physicist that he was right and they agreed that if hawking was right that he would get a life time subscription to Penthouse and the other physicist would get the best encyclopedia on baseball that was on the market.

All the physicists went to work on the question so as to be able to prove Hawking wrong and in the end, they did prove him wrong.

Hawking was then asked, rather smugly, what he was going to focus his work on now that he had been proven wrong. Hawking relied that he didn?t know where his work would take him next as he didn?t have time to think about because he was too busy doing research into finding out what was the best encyclopedia on baseball.

That is what makes Stephen hawking such a great scientist. He loves science for the thrill of exploring the questions and not the glory of being the one to find the answers.

[fabrat1]

Wow my Grandfather died from ALS 6 months after he was diagnosed.