Stephen Hawking’s theory of everything is often referred to as a unified model of physics that describes all the fundamental forces and forms of energy of the universe, which puts it in the same category as Einstein’s theory of relativity. But what does this mean in simple terms? The main idea behind the theory of everything, or TOE, is that all the forces in our universe are interrelated and part of one larger force we can’t yet perceive but will someday, with the help of advances in technology and physics.
Introduction
Stephen Hawking was born on 8 January 1942 in Oxford, England. His father was a medical researcher and his mother a historian. He was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at the age of 21, and for most of his life he has been confined to a wheelchair. ALS is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
His early work centered around black holes and quantum theory but he later became more interested in cosmology, which led to the publication in 1988 of A Brief History of Time – one of the most popular science books ever written. His latest book, The Grand Design, tackles head-on some philosophical questions such as why there is something rather than nothing and whether God exists or not. In fact, this latter question dominates the second part of the book: Did God Create the Universe?
As you may know from reading about him in newspapers and magazines, Hawking does not believe in a personal god who intervenes in the world. Rather he sees god as an abstract entity that created our universe from physical law
The Three Pillars of the Theory
The theory states that the three fundamental forces in the universe- gravity, electromagnetism, and strong nuclear force-are all manifestations of one unifying principle. The word unifying is used to describe how these seemingly unrelated forces are connected in a single entity. This means that gravity, for example, is not just a force that causes objects to have weight or fall to the ground; it also has to do with how light bends as it travels through space. These three forces are often referred to as pillars because they support everything in existence.
To understand what this actually means, think about how electricity conducts through wires by creating electromagnetic waves. It is because electrons in atoms can become detached from their nuclei (forming an electron cloud) while at the same time generating a magnetic field around them (called an electric current). The newly freed electron can then attach itself to another atom and start generating its own electromagnetic wave which will go on into infinity.
But there are two important differences. First, no matter where we go in the universe, we always observe the same physical laws. For example, Newton’s Law of Gravity applies everywhere so even if you’re far away from Earth on Pluto you’ll still experience it acting upon you. Second and most importantly, gravity does not stop at the edge of our solar system! It extends infinitely outward forever.
Evidence for the Theory
The theory tackles some of the most fundamental questions about how the universe began and what it is made up of. It unifies Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, which describes the force of gravity and motion on the largest scales, with quantum physics, which governs matter on small scales.
The theory starts with a single equation: E = mc2. The E stands for energy, while m represents mass and c is the speed of light in a vacuum. One interpretation would be that mass and energy are equivalent to each other in that they can be converted into each other. In other words, mass can be turned into energy or vice versa.
Implications of the Theory
Along with being an astrophysicist and cosmologist, Stephen Hawking is a proponent of the idea that there are many universes, even if this is not yet proven. This idea stems from his theory that black holes emit radiation. He theorized that as a black hole radiates energy, particles are created and these particles form a baby universe. With this in mind, we can hypothesize that our own universe could have started as one of these baby universes which then grew to its current size.
Conclusion
The theory of everything is a search for the ultimate answer to life. It may be that there is an ultimate theory of everything, but we have not found it yet. We know that the universe appears to be simpler than our theories about how it works. There are many mysteries in the universe and we are not yet able to answer them all. So far, we know very little about what causes gravity or where space and time come from. Stephen Hawking was one who searched for this answer his entire life and he died without finding it. His idea about the theory of everything is still thought-provoking for scientists to this day as they continue their work on unraveling the mystery behind our physical reality.
