Albert Einstein Facts

Albert Einstein is perhaps the most well known, and recognised scientists of all time. His image has been reproduced everywhere from history books to t-shirts, and his famous equation, E=mc2, can be quoted by almost everyone. He won the Nobel Prise for physics, but not for his famous theory of relativity, but instead for the photoelectric effect.

Albert Einstein was born on 14 March 1879 Ulm, Germany. His father, Hermann was a salesman and a trained engineer, and his mother Pauline. Before the age of 1, the family moved to Munich, where, with Albert’s uncle, Hermann started a company producing electrical equipment.

Despite being Jewish, the young Einstein attended a Catholic school from the age of 5 till 10. Through this education, he began to show a technical talent, building models for fun. When he was given a copy of Euclid’s Elements to him, his interest in mathematics developed.

With the failure of his fathers company in 1894, the family had to move to Milan, Italy and then to Pavia. However, Albert remained in Munich to continue his studies, only to return to his family the following year after having difficulties at the school. In order to finish his secondary schooling he was sent to Zurich, Switzerland. It was here that he first came across Maxwell’s electromagnetic theory. He graduated when 17, and went to the Polytechnic to study mathematics and physics. Another entrant that year was Mileva Maric, his future wife. Albert graduated in 1900 with his diploma in mathematics and physics.

After graduation, Einstein eventually joined the Swiss Patent Office, evaluating electro-magnetic inventions. Clearly this did not suit him, as his heart was in physics. However he stayed at the office, but continued to read and study outside of work. Together with friends he formed a discussion group, where ideas could be aired and debated.

Einstein and Mileve had a daughter, Lieserl, in 1902, and then married in 1903. Hans Albert Einstein was born a year later in Born, Switzerland. Their second son, Eduard was born in 1910, both parent living together at the time. However, in 1914, Albert moved to Berlin, Mileve and family remaining in Zurich. This put a strain on the marriage, made worst by Albert’s affair with his cousin, Elsa Lowentral. The inevitable happened, and in 1919 they divorced. A few months later, Einstein and Elsa married. They remained together untill her death in December 1936.

The physics of the turn of the century was focused on the atom. Despite evidence from chemistry, there was still much debate about the form of the atom and even its existence. There was even the birth of a new field of physics quantum mechanics. Add to this, the increasing number of experimental results, which brought into question some of the most fundamental scientific theories, and it is clear to see where Einstein’s thoughts lay. In his first years after graduation, he concentrated on thermodynamics, the subject that bound together the problem areas.

His studies bore fruit in 1905 when he published 4 papers in the German scientific journal - Annalen der Physik. These 4 papers were to have a far reaching effect on physics and science in general, and helped propel Einstein into the icon he became. These papers have collectively become known as ‘Annus Mirabilis papers’ or the Extraordinary Year Papers. But only one of them was about relativity!

The Photoelectic Effect

James Maxwell had developed a theory describing light. It was accepted as fact because it described the behaviour of light in a precise mathematical manner, which had been proven with experiments. Light was an electromagnetic wave with predicable qualities. However, there were some results that could not be explained – one being the discharge of a static charge under some colours of light. If light was a true wave, then this behaviour was unexplainable.

Einstein continued work from an idea by Max Planck, and derived a new theory of light. According to his theory, it was no longer a wave, but instead discrete packets of energy – or quanta. This had far reaching consequences, as not only did it bring into question on of the corner stones of physics, but it also raised more questions, for it predicted that energy could on have finite states. Quantum mechanics, if not already born, was certainly coming of age.

After experimental results showed Einstein to be right, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1921.

Brownian Motion

If you look small particles held in a liquid under a microscope, they appear to move randomly. This is called Brownian Motion, and was another little understood phenomena. There was no conclusive theory as to the cause of it.

Einstein used a field of study called Statistical Mechanics, which was itself controversial within physics. This technique uses statistics, or the average properties of small particles, to predict the behaviour of a larger body. Einstein realised that the visible particles were being hit by the much smaller atoms of the liquid. He derived a theory to explain the motions, and mathematical equations to predict behaviours. This paper lead to the acceptance of the existence of the atom.

Special Relativity

Einstein’s third paper in 1905 is his most famous – ‘On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies’, published on 30 June. It was monumental in its impact and showed Einstein’s true genius. In showing that the laws of physics changed dramatically close to the speed of light, he brought together Maxwell’s laws for electricity and magnetism with the observed laws of mechanics. Special Relativity was born.

With no more that a thought experiment, he showed that time and space were not the constant they were previously believed to be. When travelling at the speed of light, it could be deduced that time slowed down, and space itself and mass were altered. The achievement of this theory is more astonishing when it is considered that Einstein worked it out from some well known experimental results, and first principles. It was so revolutionary that is was some time before it was generally accepted. Even by the time he received the Nobel Prise in 1921, it had still not been proved experimentally.

Mass and Energy

If Special Relativity was his most famous theory, then Einstein’s last paper of 1905 introduced the best known science equation and the one that would have the most devastating impact on the follow century, E=mc2 (that’s E equals m c squared). This theory states that mass and energy are fundamentally the same thing. From special relativity, he showed that as a body moves close to the speed of light, its mass increases. This in turn means it’s hard to push and accelerate. The result? A universal speed limit – that of light itself. Nothing can ever travel faster.

The other product of this theory is the ability to turn mass into energy, and back again. But, a small amount of mass gives a huge amount of energy. It was quickly realised that some radioactive elements (such as uranium) could be made to release energy as they decayed. The atomic bomb was conceived. However, it would not be until 1945 before the bomb itself was born.

Beyond nuclear weapons and power, this theory has other far-reaching consequences. It shows that the universe is more dynamic than was previously thought. Energy and mass are seemingly to completely different things. Yet, at some deep level, they are the same.

Despite the success of his 1905 papers, Einstein remained at the patent office for another 3 years. He continued examining patent applications during the day, but also worked on his beloved physics in his own time. By 1908, he had developed the reputation to be offered a position at the University of Bern. Here he worked on the quantization of light and the wave – particle duality it possesses.

He continued to work on several theories about light, explaining imprecise terms such things as why milk is white and the sky is blue, and a concept call zero point energy. However, during this time, he also continued to work on his Theory of Relativity, as it did not explain everything he wished to.

At some point, he discovered that gravity and acceleration was essentially the same thing. The theory of General Relativity was born, but not published until 1915 after the outbreak of World War I. This theory concluded that a massive body, ‘bent’ space around it, much like a ball bearing on a rubber sheet. Not only that, but clocks closer to a massive object ran slower than those further away. Again, like the theory of Special Relativity, it was devised from first principles.

With the outbreak of the war, such scientific discoveries were of a national importance to Germany. They were with held from international publication in case they proved strategically important. However, copies of his work were passed to the British and ended up on the desk of astronomer Arthur Eddington. Realising the significance of the paper, he organised expeditions to Brazil and West Africa to photograph the solar eclipse of May 1919. If the theory was correct, the positions of the stars could be measured as being displaced when viewed close to the sun, something only possible during an eclipse.

The results from the expedition were conclusive, the theory of General Relativity was correct. Einstein’s place in the history of Physics was established, even by those who previously doubted his work.

During the 1920s, Einstein returned to quantum mechanics, working with other famous physicists such as Bose. However, he became increasingly unhappy with the Bohr’s Copenhagen Interpretation – an idea that we can never know all the exact properties of a particle at the same time; we can know the speed, but not the position, or the position but not the speed. Throughout the 20s and 30s he corresponded with Bohr, the 2 proposing and counter proposing arguments. Although he did much new work, this reluctance to accept quantum mechanics in this form made Einstein marginalized within physics. Increasingly his work was ignored.

Einstein worked on a Unified Theory towards the later part of his life, but was ultimately unsucessful. Although a living icon, he found some parts of his fame difficult to cope with. When people stopped him in the street, he would simply claim that he was often mistaken for the scientist and walk on.

Albert Einstein suffered an internal bleed from previous surgery on the 17 April 1955. He was taken to hospital, but refused surgery, saying it was pointless to prolong life artificially and believing it was his time to go. He died in Princeton Hospital the next day. He was 76. According to his wishes he was cremated and the ashes spread on the grounds of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton.

It was discovered later, that his brain was removed during the autopsy, without the permission or knowledge of the family. It was hoped that future neuroscience could determine why Einstein was such a genius.

It has been more than 100 years since Einstein wrote his world shattering papers, and over 60 years since his death. Yet, he is still remembered by not only science, but also pop culture.

One of his favourite saying was '"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

How fitting then, that his image, theories and equations can be found on t shirts. Have a look at the t-shirts to the right, and give recognition to this truly amazing scientist.