Stephen Hawking’s words to be beamed into black hole
World-renowned British physicist Stephen Hawking will embark on his ultimate posthumous discovery, as his words will be beamed into a black hole after a memorial service on Friday.
As the ashes of the legendary cosmologist are interred at Westminster Abbey between the graves of Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin, his thoughts will be set free to travel to a place that had always fascinated him – а black hole.
Accompanied by the sounds of Greek composer Vangelis, Hawking’s message of "peace and hope" will begin its journey from the European Space Agency satellite dish at the Cebreros station in Spain.
The words of this extraordinary man will be beamed towards the nearest black hole, 1A 0620-00, which is itself in a binary system "with a fairly ordinary orange dwarf star," according to his daughter, Lucy.
One of Hawking’s major theories was that black holes can shrink or evaporate as they allow radiation to escape.
About a thousand members of the public, including family and friends, will attend the Friday memorial service. A number of people, including Benedict Cumberbatch, who played a physicist in a BBC drama, and astronaut Tim Peake will pay tribute.
The legendary scientist, who had for more than 50 years battled amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, died at the age of 76 in March.
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