A rchive Date
[ 12-03-2003 ]
Category
[ Science ]
sub-Categoy
[ Physics ]
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[http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/1814599
One scientist, innumerable mysteries
Hawking at A&M for work on cosmos
By ERIC BERGER
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle Science Writer
March 12, 2003, 7:38AM
COLLEGE STATION -- Physicist Stephen Hawking is not well-equipped for this world. Crippled by a disease that should have killed him years ago, he can't walk or even talk.
It is not surprising, then, that Hawking is much more at home in the vast expanses of the universe. This is where his mind has dwelt for four decades, as Lou Gehrig's disease has slowly ravaged his muscles.
His keen grasp of black holes and origins of the universe has led colleagues to regard him as one of the greatest theoretical physicists since Albert Einstein. His public reputation is no less acclaimed. As a paralyzed physicist who speaks with a computer-synthesized voice, he is probably the most famous living scientist.
"I'm sure my disability has a bearing on why I'm well known," Hawking said in an interview Monday. "People are fascinated by the contrast between my very limited physical powers and the vast nature of the universe I deal with."
Because of his limitations, Hawking rarely gives interviews. Now headlining a symposium at Texas A&M University, he is giving a public lecture Friday in The Woodlands and he agreed to talk in advance about his research, his health and his future. Hawking prepared responses to a dozen questions submitted earlier by the Houston Chronicle and met for an exclusive interview with a reporter and photographer.
At 61, the wear and tear of his disease is physically evident.
That he has survived at all is amazing. Lou Gehrig's disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, kills 90 percent of its victims within five years of diagnosis. Hawking was diagnosed with the disease more than 40 years ago, when he was a graduate student in Cambridge, England.
By 1974, he lost the abilities to eat by himself and get out of bed. A few years later, only his family and a few close associates could understand his slurred speech. He lost the ability to speak in 1985.
A computer attached to Hawking's wheelchair cycles through letters and sounds, and Hawking clicks a button to make a selection, forming words and then sentences. For unprepared responses, it takes a few minutes to form a single sentence. He then sends the response to a voice synthesizer.
But the disease has clearly not reached his brain or affected his sense of humor. He finds it amusing that his synthesizer speaks with an American accent. And the gleam in his eye reflects a desire to continue his research.
Hawking is particularly interested by recent, precise measurements of the temperature of radiation that pervades all of space, a remnant of the Big Bang.
"It is believed that these fluctuations were microscopic quantum fluctuations in the early universe, which were greatly expanded in size when the universe underwent a period of extremely rapid expansion called inflation," he said.
"The results support the idea of inflation, although the precise model is something we don't know yet. I'm working on it!"
Hawking and other theoretical physicists are also hard at work on a quantum theory of gravity, an effort to devise a single theory that would merge scientific understanding of Einstein's theory of relativity with quantum mechanics, which controls the behavior of matter at the atomic scale. This fundamental understanding of nature's forces is one of modern-day physics' most elusive goals.
"It is an exciting time to be working on this problem, with so much observational data becoming available," he said.
Although he is widely regarded in the scientific community, Hawking has never won a Nobel Prize, science's highest honor. The award is only given for discoveries supported by experimental evidence, and Hawking's research is not something that can be replicated in a petri dish.
His greatest work has been to expand understanding of black holes, which have not been directly observed -- not surprising because a black hole is a cosmological body with such intense gravity that even light cannot escape. There is much indirect evidence of black holes, however.
"A Nobel Prize would be nice, but the important thing is that my colleagues believe my work even without experimental confirmation, because it just has to be right to be consistent with what we know of the universe," he said.
Hawking first caught the public's eye in 1988 with the publication of A Brief History of Time, which has sold 10 million copies and been translated into 40 languages. His pop-culture status was further cemented by cameos on The Simpsons and Star Trek: The Next Generation, in which he played poker with Einstein, Isaac Newton and the Star Trek character Data.
Hawking is spending three weeks at the George P. and Cynthia W. Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics at Texas A&M to meet with colleagues and discuss the quantum gravity question.
The Mitchells have donated several million dollars to establish the institute, endow two physics chairs at Texas A&M and cover Hawking's expenses for the trip.
Hawking said he has visited Texas six times but has not come during the summer, which he said would be "difficult." As for the Texan in the White House, Hawking said he fears Bush is leading the United States into another Vietnam War.
"It will be far more difficult to get out of Iraq than to get in," he said.
For his Friday speech, Hawking will review cutting-edge theories of how the universe developed, from its beginnings to the present. Hawking's wit and clarity give him the ability to explain even the most technical ideas on a basic level to both children and adults.
Although the universe is a complicated and counterintuitive place, Hawking is fond of quoting Einstein, who said, "The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible."
Hawking admits much still is not known about the cosmos, but he said scientists are making great strides in understanding its early expansion.
"There is no reason the universe should be simple," he said. "If it were too simple to support life, we wouldn't be here at all." ]
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