Stephen Hawking, a world famous British physicist, will write a children's book with his daughter. Hawking said the book would be "a bit like Harry Potter" but without the magic. "It explains the wonders of the universe, " said Hawking, while he was on a visit to Hong Kong last week.
Hawking, 64, is probably the world's most famous scientist after Albert Einstein. He is an expert on black holes. He has put his whole life into digging into the beginning (and the end) of the universe.
"My goal is simple, " Hawking once said. "Itis to completely understand the universe, why it is and why it is there at all."
Hawking has a bad illness that stops him from moving or talking. For a period of time, he had no way to communicate except by blinking.
Now he sits on a wheelchair with a computer by his side. To communicate, he moves two fingers to control the computer's mouse. He selects his words from the screen, which are then spoken by a voice synthesizer (音响合成器).
"I have had the disease for most of my life, " Hawking once said. "Yet it has not stopped me from being successful at my work."
Although Hawking is such a disabled man, he made great achievements. He has received many awards and prizes for his work over the years. This includes winning the Albert Einstein Award. It is the highest achievement in theoretical physics.