Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum theory. His mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc², which comes from special relativity, has been called "the world's most famous equation". In 1921, he received the Nobel Prize in Physics for "his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect". If you are looking for other uses of the name, see Einstein (disambiguation) and [Albert Einstein (disambiguation)](/wiki/Albert_Einstein_(disambiguation).

Einstein was born a subject of the Kingdom of Württemberg, which was part of the German Empire. He moved to Switzerland in 1895 and gave up his German citizenship the next year. In 1896, at the age of seventeen, he began studying mathematics and physics at the Swiss federal polytechnic school in Zurich, and he graduated in 1900. A year later, he became a Swiss citizen, and he kept that citizenship for the rest of his life. After that, he got a steady job at the Swiss Patent Office in Bern. In 1905, he earned a PhD from the University of Zurich.

In 1914, he moved to Berlin to join the Prussian Academy of Sciences and the Humboldt University of Berlin. In 1917, he became director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics, and he became a German citizen again. In 1933, while Einstein was visiting the United States, Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany. Einstein was horrified by how the Nazis were treating his fellow Jews, so he decided to stay in the US. He was given American citizenship in 1940. Just before World War II began, he signed a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The letter warned him about a possible German nuclear weapons program and suggested that the US start similar research. That research later became the Manhattan Project.

In 1905, which is sometimes called his annus mirabilis (miracle year), he published four groundbreaking papers. In them, he described a theory of the photoelectric effect and explained Brownian motion. He also introduced his special theory of relativity and showed that mass and energy are equivalent to each other. In 1915, he proposed the general theory of relativity, which expanded his ideas about motion to include gravitation. A paper he published the next year explained what general relativity meant for the universe as a whole. It introduced the cosmological constant and is seen as the first step in modern cosmology. In 1917, Einstein wrote a paper that introduced the ideas of spontaneous emission and stimulated emission. Stimulated emission is the main idea behind the laser and maser. The paper also contained ideas that later helped scientists develop fields such as quantum electrodynamics and quantum optics.

In the middle part of his career, Einstein made important contributions to statistical mechanics and quantum theory. One of his most notable works was on the quantum physics of radiation, where he showed that light is made of particles, later called photons. With the physicist Satyendra Nath Bose, he laid the groundwork for Bose–Einstein statistics. In the last part of his career, Einstein worked on two projects that did not succeed in the end. He argued against the idea that quantum theory adds true randomness to how the world works, saying that "God does not play dice". He also tried to create a unified field theory by extending his geometric theory of gravitation to include electromagnetism. Because of this, he became more and more separated from mainstream modern physics. Many things are named after him, including the element Einsteinium. In 1999, he was named Time's Person of the Century.

Life and career

See also: Einstein family

See also: Einstein–Szilárd letter

Main article: Political views of Albert Einstein

Main article: Political views of Albert Einstein § Zionism

Main article: Religious and philosophical views of Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, in the German Empire, on 14 March 1879. As a child, he was fascinated by a compass his father gave him. This sparked a lifelong interest in electromagnetism. He taught himself advanced mathematics when he was young. He studied in Zurich and Aarau. In 1902, he began working at the Swiss Patent Office in Bern. He had already met Mileva Marić, a fellow student. They married in January 1903 and had two sons, Hans Albert and Eduard.

In 1905, Einstein published several famous papers. They included ideas about the special theory of relativity and the photoelectric effect. In 1919, scientists led by Arthur Eddington watched a solar eclipse and found that what they saw matched Einstein's calculations. Newspapers around the world shared the news, and Einstein became famous. In 1921, he was given the Nobel Prize in Physics. Because the Nazis took power in Germany, Einstein could not return home. He settled in the United States and joined the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He became an American citizen in 1940. Einstein died in Princeton on 18 April 1955, at the age of 76.

Scientific career

Einstein wrote many books and articles during his life. He published more than 300 scientific papers and 150 papers on other subjects. On 5 December 2014, universities and archives announced the release of more than 30,000 of his papers. He also worked with other scientists on projects, including Bose–Einstein statistics and the Einstein refrigerator, which he invented together with Leó Szilárd. His first paper, sent in 1900 to Annalen der Physik, was about capillary attraction. Later, his 1905 paper on Brownian motion showed that this movement is strong evidence that molecules exist.

In 1905, Einstein published four important papers in the Annalen der Physik journal. They covered the photoelectric effect, which led to quantum theory, along with Brownian motion, the special theory of relativity, and E = mc². These works helped build the foundation of modern physics and changed how people think about space, time, and matter. From 1907 to 1915, he developed the general theory of relativity. This theory explains gravity as the bending of spacetime by masses. In 1916, he predicted gravitational waves. Researchers at LIGO confirmed this prediction in 2016. Einstein also discussed quantum mechanics with Niels Bohr and tried to create a unified field theory that would join gravity and electromagnetism. He did not succeed, but his goal of a theory of everything still inspires scientists today.

Legacy

While he traveled, Einstein wrote letters every day to his wife Elsa and to her daughters Margot and Ilse, whom he had adopted. The letters were given to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Margot Einstein allowed the personal letters to be shared with the public, but she asked that this wait until twenty years after her death in 1986. Barbara Wolff, of the Hebrew University's Albert Einstein Archives, told the BBC that there are about 3,500 pages of private letters from 1912 to 1955. In his last four years, Einstein helped start the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. In 1979, the Albert Einstein Memorial was unveiled outside the National Academy of Sciences building in Washington, D.C. to celebrate what would have been his 100th birthday. Robert Berks made the statue, which shows Einstein holding a paper with three of his most important equations: for the photoelectric effect, general relativity, and mass-energy equivalence.

In 2015, a court case about Einstein's right of publicity was held in a federal court in California. The court first said the right had ended, but that decision was quickly challenged and later thrown out completely, and the claims were settled. The right can still be enforced, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem is its only official representative. Corbis, which took over from The Roger Richman Agency, gives permission for the use of his name and associated imagery on behalf of the university.

Several places are named after Einstein. Mount Einstein in the Chugach Mountains of Alaska was named in 1955. Mount Einstein in New Zealand's Paparoa Range was named after him in 1970 by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. In 1999, Einstein was named Time's Person of the Century.

In 1999, a survey of the top 100 physicists voted Einstein the "greatest physicist ever," while a similar survey of other physicists put Isaac Newton first and Einstein second. The physicist Lev Landau ranked physicists on a logarithmic scale from 0 to 5, based on how much they produced and how much genius they showed. Newton received the top rating of 0, and Einstein received 0.5. Founders of quantum mechanics, such as Paul Dirac, Niels Bohr, and Werner Heisenberg, were rated 1, and Landau himself was rated 2. Science writer John G. Simmons ranked Einstein second after Newton in The Scientific 100. He said Einstein's work "forms the source of twentieth-century physics." Physicist Eugene Wigner said that John von Neumann had the quickest mind he ever knew, but that Einstein had the deeper and more original mind.

The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics declared 2005 the "World Year of Physics," also called "Einstein Year," to honor Einstein's "miracle year" of 1905. The United Nations also named it the "International Year of Physics."

In popular culture

After his general theory of relativity was confirmed in 1919, Einstein became one of the most famous scientific celebrities. Most people did not understand his work, but they knew his name and admired him. Before World War II, The New Yorker wrote that people in America would stop him on the street to ask him to explain "that theory." Later, he dealt with these visitors by pretending to be someone else: "Pardon me, sorry! Always I am mistaken for Professor Einstein."

Many novels, films, plays, and pieces of music are about Einstein or were inspired by him. He is a favorite model for absent-minded professors. His expressive face and wild hairstyle have been widely copied and exaggerated. Time magazine's Frederic Golden called him "a cartoonist's dream come true." His achievements and originality made his name almost another word for genius. Many popular quotations are often misattributed to him.

Awards and honors

For a longer list, see List of awards and honors received by Albert Einstein.

Einstein received many awards and honors. In 1922, he was given the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics. It was given to him "for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect". The Nobel committee felt that none of the people nominated in 1921 met the rules set by Alfred Nobel. So the 1921 prize was saved and given to Einstein in 1922.

Einsteinium, a chemical element made by people, was named in his honor in 1955. This was a few months after he died.

Publications

Further information: List of scientific publications by Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein wrote many papers and books. Some were about science. Some were written for everyday readers. Some shared his views about politics.