5 amazing things the world learned from Stephen Hawking
1. The past is a probability
According to Hawking, one of the consequences of the theory of quantum mechanics is that events in the past did not happen in any particular way. Instead, they happened in every possible way. This is due to the probabilistic nature of matter and energy according to quantum mechanics: until there is an outside observer, everything will hover in uncertainty.
Hawking: "No matter what memories you hold of the past in the present, the past, like the future, is uncertain and exists as a spectrum of possibilities."
2. General theory of relativity has to do with errors in navigation systems
General relativity was formulated by Einstein in 1915. It postulates that "gravitational effects are caused not by the force interaction of bodies and fields in space-time, but by the deformation of space-time itself, which is associated, in particular, with the presence of mass-energy."
Hawking acted as a popularizer of this theory. He argues, in particular, that “If general relativity is not taken into account in GPS navigation satellite systems, errors in determining global positions will accumulate at a speed of about 10 km per day. It is important to understand that the closer the object is to the Earth, the slower time flows. Thus, depending on how far the satellites are from the Earth, their onboard clocks will operate at different speeds. We could compensate for this difference automatically if this effect were taken into account."
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3. Aquarium fish are depressed
“Imagine yourself as a fish living in a walled aquarium. What would you know about our world if all your life you looked at it in distortion from glass and did not have the opportunity to get out? It is impossible to know the true nature of reality: we believe that we have a clear idea of the world around us, but, speaking metaphorically, we are doomed to spend our whole life in an aquarium, since the capabilities of our body do not allow us to get out of it. - says Hawking.
Impressed by this metaphor, the authorities of the city of Monz, Italy, several years ago legally prohibited keeping fish in round aquariums so that the distortion of light would not prevent the fish from perceiving the world as it is.
4. Quarks are never alone
Quarks, the "building blocks" of protons and neutrons, exist only in groups and never one at a time. The force that binds the quarks increases with the distance between them, so if you try to pull one quark away from another, then the more you pull, the harder it will try to break free and come back. Free quarks do not occur in nature.
5. The universe spawned itself
Hawking is a staunch atheist. He devoted a lot of time to scientific evidence that no God is needed for life to exist. One of his famous sayings is: “Since there is such a force as gravity, the Universe could and created itself out of nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason why the universe exists, why we exist. There is no need for God to 'light' the fire and make the universe work."