StoryShots Summary and Analysis of The Theory of Everything: The Origin and Fate of the Universe by Stephen Hawking
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Stephen Hawking's Perspective
Stephen Hawking was considered one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists in history. From the Big Bang to black holes, his work on the universe's origins and structure revolutionized the field. Hawking was born in Oxford into a family of doctors. He began his university education at University College, Oxford, in 1959. He received a first-class BA degree in physics. Hawking began his graduate work at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, in 1962. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in applied mathematics and theoretical physics, specializing in general relativity and cosmology, in March 1966. Like Isaac Newton, he was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge between 1979 and 2009. At age 21, while studying cosmology at the University of Cambridge, he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Part of his life story was depicted in the 2014 film The Theory of Everything.
Introduction
The Theory of Everything is a series of lectures given by Stephen Hawking. The goal of these lectures is to outline what scientists believe is the history of the universe. As a result, he offers a history of science's understanding of the universe. Additionally, he clearly explains the events that unfolded immediately after the Big Bang. Hawking also covers the cosmological field he is most famous for: the study of black holes.
StoryShot #1: The Original Four Ideas About the Universe
Aristotle
Aristotle considered the idea of a round Earth as early as 340 BC. In his book, On the Heavens, he wrote about two theories that suggested Earth was spherical. First off, he had observed that the Earth being between the Sun and the Moon caused the moon eclipses. As the Earth's shadow on the Moon was always round, this suggested the Earth was round. Aristotle learned from his travels that the Pole Star is lower in the sky when viewed in the South. Again, this would propose that the Earth is spherical rather than disc-shaped. Although Aristotle's conclusions were correct, his theories were still flawed. For example, he believed the Earth was stationary and that the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars had circular orbits around the Earth.
Ptolemy
Ptolemy built upon these ideas in the first century AD. He created a complete cosmological model with Earth at the center. Eight spheres carrying the Moon, Sun, stars, and five planets surrounded the Earth. The five known planets were Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Again, Ptolemy made apparent mistakes in his theory. However, he developed Aristotle's ideas and provided a reasonably accurate system for predicting the positions of the structures visible at night. The Christian Church generally accepted this theory, partly because it placed the Earth at the center of the universe.
Copernicus
In 1514, Nicholas Copernicus suggested a much simpler model of the universe. Copernicus was a Polish priest. He then published his model anonymously for fear of being accused of heresy. Copernicus argued that the Sun was stationary at the center of the universe. The Earth and planets moved in circular orbits around the Sun. No one took this idea seriously until approximately 100 years later. At this point, Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei started publicly supporting this theory. The recently invented telescope supported Copernicus' view that the Earth was not the center of the universe. Galileo observed that several moons orbit Jupiter. This implied there was no need for all celestial bodies to orbit the Earth. Some still denied that the Earth wasn't the center of the universe, though. They stated that Jupiter's moons moved on extremely complicated paths around the Earth, suggesting that they orbit Jupiter.
Newton
In 1687, Newton published his Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. Hawking describes this as arguably the most crucial work ever published in the physical sciences. In this book, Newton proposed a theory of how bodies moved in space and time. This theory also explained a new idea of universal gravitation. Newton suggested that every celestial body in the universe was attracted to every other body. The larger the body, the stronger the gravitational pull. Newton went on to show that gravity causes the Moon to move in an elliptical orbit around the Earth. Likewise, gravity also causes the Earth and the planets to follow elliptical paths around the Sun.
Disclaimer: This is an unofficial summary and analysis.
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