Professor Stephen Hawking, the world renowned British physicist, has entered the world of apps with the newly released Pocket Universe. The app has been designed as a reimagining of Hawking’s most famous work: A Brief History of Time.
The book has sold 11 million copies across 40 languages, yet has remained one of the least-finished books due to the complexity of the subject matter.
However, that’s all set to change thanks to Pocket Universe which uses visual and instructional design to reimagine the book in an interactive form.
The app takes a visual approach to help foster understanding of Hawking’s key theories and explanations
The app, which costs $7.99/£5.99, visualizes some of Hawking’s key theories – his Singularity Theorems with Roger Penrose, ‘Hawking Radiation’ and his No Boundary Proposal. The app also includes original material from Hawking, who explains his thinking around the book’s original ideas and how they’ve changed in light of new discoveries.
Presenting an abridged version of the original text, with the added infographics, illustrations and narratives, the hope is the book will find both a new audience, and to re-inspire old readers. While the app might be pricier than you average puzzle game, it remains far cheaper than buying the physical text. And more might be inclined to finish it, too.
The app is published by Transworld and created by BAFTA winning applied games studio Preloaded. It’s available for iPhone on the App Store now, and is also compatible with the iPad.
For more information and a video demonstrating the app, visit the Pocket Universe page on Preloaded.