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It's been a year since the renowned and deeply influential physicist Stephen Hawking pbaded away, and the Royal Mint paid tribute to his legacy in the form of a new commemorative 50 pence coin.
If you have ever feared that the British currency does not have enough astrophysical equations, we have good news. Although the collector's item, sold on the Royal Mint's website, is not put into circulation, the stunning piece displays the formula describing the entropy of a black hole.
Rather than presenting a portrait of the scientist himself, the designer opted for something much more abstract, and yet something that Stephen Hawking, who had a great sense of humor, would probably have approved.
"I wanted to make a big black hole on the tiny room and wish it was always there giggling at the thought," said engraver Edwina Ellis at the BBC.
(Royal Mint)
In the middle of swirling lines inclined to inspire ideas of space revolving around an event horizon, Hawking's name is under the formula S = kc ^ 3 A / 4ℏG.
Not only will you remember one of the greatest minds of modern science, but you will simply forget about it in case you forget how to calculate the thermodynamic entropy of a Schwarzschild black hole of a given mbad.
Known as the Bekenstein-Hawking formula – an honor shared with the theoretical physicist Jacob Bekenstein – his creation is an important step forward in efforts to adapt the strange properties of black holes to existing laws in the field of physics. energy.
In simple terms, it relates the amount of disorder contained in a black hole to a physical feature of the hole itself: its surface. In addition, this means that adding material to a black hole allows its surface to expand.
It also involves a way to make the black holes less black by emitting a strange type of radiation, a discovery that Hawking has proudly counted as one of his historical contributions to science.
Even if you do not need the Bekenstein-Hawking formula when buying your morning coffee (although we suggest not to spend a collector's item to do so), this piece is a wonderful reminder of a man who not only make many breathtaking aspects of the universe accessible to non-experts.
The design certainly has the approval of his daughter Lucy.
"It's a great privilege to appear on a coin and I hope my father will be delighted to be alongside Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin as scientists who have managed to make money." Lucy told the BBC.
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