Publisher
A Brief History of Time was originally published in the year 1988 by Bantam publishers. The book explains complex theories of quantum physics in a simplified way.
Synopsis
In A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists in history,has tried to explain the fundamental questions of human existence to the non-science readers. He has tried to describe the physics of day-to-day life in a simple way avoiding any technical jargon.
This deep science book answers some of the most common questions such as ‘where did the universe come from?’, ‘How and why did it begin?’, ‘Will it come to an end, and if so, how?’ and more. Among the topics that are covered in this book are concepts of gravity, black holes, the Big Bang, the nature of time and physicists' search for a grand unifying theory.
Excerpts from the Book
Following are some lines from A Brief History of Time that intrigued minds across the world:
“Ever since the dawn of civilization, people have not been content to see events as unconnected and inexplicable. They have craved an understanding of the underlying order in the world. Today we still yearn to know why we are here and where we came from. Humanity's deepest desire for knowledge is justification enough for our continuing quest. And our goal is nothing less than a complete description of the universe we live in.”
“If there really is a complete unified theory that governs everything, it presumably also determines your actions. But it does so in a way that is impossible to calculate for an organism that is as complicated as a human being. The reason we say that humans have free will is because we can't predict what they will do.”
“The increase of disorder or entropy is what distinguishes the past from the future, giving a direction to time.”
About the Author
Born in 1942 in England, Stephen Hawking suffered from ALS, known as motor neurone disease that gradually paralysed him over the decades. Despite his disability, he grew out to become an extraordinary theoretical physicist, cosmologist and Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology within the University of Cambridge. Hawking was the first to set forth a theory of cosmology explained by a union of the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. He received Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. He rose to fame with his works of popular science where he discussed cosmology and his own theories.
