London’s Science Museum is trying to unravel the mystery behind Stephen Hawking’s blackboard

(ORDO NEWS) — One of the most famous scientists of our time, Stephen Hawking, died in 2018. He was a theoretical physicist, and his interests were in space and astrophysics. After himself, he left not only a huge baggage of developments, but also a mysterious board.

Shortly after graduating from Cambridge University, the future scientist, then very young, was diagnosed with an incurable disease – amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Over time, he led to complete paralysis and loss of speech. But this did not prevent him from actively engaging in science and teaching.

Mystery board

• An unusual exhibit recently appeared at the London Science Museum – a blackboard from Hawking’s apartment, densely dotted with various drawings, words, phrases, signs and equations.
• Their authors are fellow physicists of Hawking, who took part with him in a conference on superspace and supergravity at the University of Cambridge back in 1980.
• For a long time, no one knew about the existence of this board – it became an exhibit of the exhibition dedicated to Hawking only 42 years after its creation.
• Therefore, now the main intrigue is to unravel the mystery of these mysterious drawings.

For example, what could the phrase “stupor symmetry” mean , the image of a bearded alien and a flat-nosed squid crawling up a wall? Or what secret is hidden in a jar labeled “Exxon supergravity”?

After all, the friends and colleagues of the scientist who participated in the “painting” are still alive. Perhaps they will be able to remember an old meeting in Hawking’s apartment and help solve the mystery of the mysterious board.

It is interesting that the board was kept all this time. No one for so long did not know what was written on it. It pairs with dozens of other items, including a copy of the physicist’s 1966 doctoral dissertation, a dissertation on the expansion of the universe, his wheelchair, and a personalized jacket given to him by the creators of The Simpsons in honor of his multiple appearances on the show.

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