Albert Einstein
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most
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Albert Einstein & Physics:
After teaching math and physics for
a few years, in 1905 he wrote 3 papers that would significantly impact
the world of physics.
The first paper described Planck's quantum
hypothesis to explain the electromagnetic radiation of light. This
theory on the photoelectric effect would later earn him a Nobel prize (1921).
His idea was that light travels as BOTH a wave and in particles (which
he called quanta).
The second paper proposed his special theory
of relativity, and his third paper was on statistical mechanics (specifically,
Brownian motion).
He continued to work on his special theory
of relativity until it evolved into a general theory of relativity ...
linking mass, space, and time. He published a more comprehensize
paper on the subject in 1916. Three years later, a solar eclipse
provided proof for his theory of relativity.
In the 1920s, he and Niels Bohr began work
on developing the theory of quantum mechanics.
It was Einstein who urged FDR in 1939 to
develop the nuclear bomb (which used his theories), though he later considered
it his "one great mistake."
While he continued to work on refining his
previous ideas, later in life he tried unsuccessfully to come up with a
"Unified Field Theory." |
His Life:
Albert Einstein was born on March
14, 1879 in Ulm, Germany. Besides formal school in Munich
and the Luitpold Gymnasium, he also had violin lessons and was taught Judaism
at home and in school.
He graduated in Switzerland
in 1900 and to became a math and physics teacher. Though he did work
in the field for a while, his job from 1902 to 1909 was as a patent officer
in Switzerland. In his spare time, he published a number of scientific
articles on his own.
After his 1905 publications,
he became more and more prominent on the world stage. After he left
the patent office, he spent the rest of his life working at research and
academic institutions. He traveled extensively and was offered jobs
around the world.
He moved to the U.S. in 1933
and became a citizen in 1940. He worked at Princeton (New Jersey)
until his death on April 18, 1955. |
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Einstein Quotes:
- Imagination is more important than knowledge.
- Reality is merely an illusion, albeit
a very persistent one.
- Do not worry about your difficulties in
Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater.
- Try not to become a man of success, but
rather try to become a man of value.
- The hardest thing in the world to understand
is the income tax.
- The secret to creativity is knowing how
to hide your sources.
- The only thing that interferes with my
learning is my education.
- God doesn't play dice. |
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Einstein Trivia:
> He did not start to speak until he was
3 years old.
> He could play the violin.
> His varicose veins and flat feet kept
him out of the Swiss army.
> His doctorate thesis (1905) from the University
of Zurich was on "a new determination of molecular dimensions".
> He was offered the presidency of Israel
in the 1950s.
> His eyes are in a lab jar in New Jersey,
while his brain is in another jar in Lawrence, Kansas. |
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