Hawking’s doctoral thesis online. The huge interest has paralyzed the university’s website

The University of Cambridge has made the doctoral thesis of now-famous cosmologist Stephen Hawking available to all interested parties. Interest in the paper was so great that it caused the university’s open repository servers, Apollo, to crash.

Stephen Hawking completed his doctoral thesis in 1965. It runs to 119 pages and is titled „Properties of the expanding universeów” (Properties of Expanding Universes).

The University of Cambridge, in an official statement, acknowledged that Hawking’s paper was the most requested item in the university’s open-for-all repository. „We had more than 60,000 downloads of Professor Hawking’s work in less than 24 hours. As a result of the overwhelming interest, the repository site may run slower or be inaccessible” – reads the statement.

Hawking himself decided to publish his work in a free repository at the University of Cambridge – Apollo. – I hope that open access to my doctorate, will inspire people around the world to look up at the stars, not under their feet – stated the scientist in agreeing to make his PhD available.

– Everyone, no matter where they are, should have free access, not only to my research, but to the research of every great and inquisitive mind across the spectrum of human understanding – said Hawking commenting on the huge interest in his work.

– Each generation stands on the shoulders of those whoóers were before them. Similarly, I, as a young student at Cambridge, was inspired by the work of Isaac Newton, James Clerk Maxwell and Albert Einstein. It is great to hear how many waspsób have expressed interest in downloading my work – I hope now they will not be disappointed – admitted the physicist.

Hawking has suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis for years, które led to paralysis of almost his entire body. He was diagnosed with the disease at the age of 21. Doctors gave him no chance of living to his 25th birthday. He is now 75 years old. However, this did not prevent him from actively participating in the public debate on the condition of humanity.

At the time of handing in the paper, Hawking was 24 years old. He was still able to write with his own hands. Diagnosis, whichóhe heard a few years earlier was like a death sentence. The young researcher fell into depression, his condition deteriorated rapidly. It seemed that the work on the doctorate was doomed to failure, since he would not finish it before his death anyway. He was snapped out of his lethargy by his future wife – Jane Wilde.

Hawking’s doctoral thesis is available on the University of Cambridge website.