Book of the Week: "A Brief History of Time" - a popular science work proving the correctness of science fiction writers

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Legendary Stephen Hawking - about what a black hole is and how the universe will die.

In April of this year, the world was shocked by the news that scientists were able to photograph a black hole for the first time. Even people very far from science were agitated, and researchers began to reflect on what this means for them and for humanity.

Those who still find it difficult to figure out why this is important can turn to the book “A Brief History of Time. From the Big Bang to Black Holes”, in which the author discusses space, time, the Big Bang and the origin of the Universe.

There is hardly anyone who has never heard the name of the British physicist Stephen Hawking. For his research in the field of theoretical physics, he has earned a place of honor among modern scientists. And thanks to the desire to convey the most mysterious secrets of the Universe to everyone who wants to study them, his fame went far beyond the boundaries of the scientific community.

A genius mind, subtle humor and a flamboyant personality made Hawking an influential figure in modern culture. He even appeared in one of the most popular sitcoms - The Big Bang Theory. And wherever he was, the scientist immediately attracted attention and acquired new fans.

Stephen Hawking's first book, A Brief History of Time, partly confirms Kurt Vonnegut's words:

If a scientist does not know how to popularly explain to an eight-year-old child what he is doing, then he is a charlatan.

Novel "Cat's Cradle"

Of course, the child is unlikely to find the information presented by the physicist interesting. But here is an inveterate humanist, who at school crammed formulas without much understanding, will appreciate the simple language and corporate humor of the author.

By the way, about the formulas. Hawking deliberately abandoned them in A Brief History of Time, leaving only one:

I was told that each formula included in the book would halve the number of buyers. Then I decided to do without formulas altogether. True, at the end I did write one equation - the famous Einstein equation E = mc². Hopefully it doesn't scare off half of my potential readers.

Judging by the fact that since the release of the book, more than 10 million copies have been sold worldwide, they were not afraid to read. The work is popular both among those who are seriously interested in science and those who just want to broaden their horizons.

But the work deserved special recognition among fans of science fiction, because Hawking considers topics from the point of view of theoretical physics that are often raised in books and films. For example, it allows for the possibility of time travel. So the dreams of science fiction writers about an instant jump into the future or the past may well turn out to be a reality.

In addition, from the book you can find out whether you can survive if you fall into a black hole. Considering that a photo of this object has already been taken, perhaps soon the issue of human interaction with it will become relevant. And it would be nice to know in advance what this is fraught with.