Albert Einstein is one of the most famous scientists of all time and his name is inextricably linked with modern physics. A genius and visionary, he revolutionised our understanding of space, time and gravity. His theories, especially the theory of relativity and his work on the photoelectric effect, have not only changed science but also influenced modern technology. Not only that, but he was an outspoken pacifist and advocate for civil rights. Learn everything about Albert Einstein's life and his most important theories in this explanation.
| Born | Albert Einstein, 14th of March 1879 |
| Died | 18th of April 1955 |
| Nationality | German |
| Alma mater | Eidgenössisches Polytechnikum, Zürich (known today as ETH), graduated in 1901 |
| Known for | - The general and the special theory of relativity
- The photoelectric effect (\(E = hf\))
- Theory of Brownian motion
- Mass-energy equivalence (\(E = mc^2\))
|
| Occupation | Physicist and mathematician |
| Awards | - Barnard Medal (1920)
- Nobel Prize in Physics (1921)
- Matteucci Medal (1921)
- ForMemRS (1921)
- Copley Medal (1925)
- Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1926)
- Max Planck Medal (1929)
- Member of the National Academy of Sciences (1942)
- Time Person of the Century (1999)
|
| Spouses | - Mileva Marić (m. 1903, div. 1919)
- Elsa Einstein (m. 1919, died 1936)
|
| Children | Biological - Lieserl Einstein
- Hans Albert Einstein
- Eduard Einstein
Adoptive - Ilse Löwenthal Einstein
- Margot Löwenthal Einstein
|
Table 1. Albert Einstein biography - summary.- Albert Einstein's Biography
- Albert Einstein's Inventions
- Albert Einstein's Biography - family and interests
- Albert Einstein's political convictions and interests
- Albert Einstein's IQ
- Quotes by Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein: Biography
Albert Einstein was born on the 14th of March, 1879 in Ulm, a city in Germany. His parents were Hermann and Pauline Einstein. Einstein already showed a unique talent for mathematics and physics in his childhood.
Albert Einstein's Education
In 1896, Einstein passed the Maturitätsprüfung (comparable to the current German Abitur, an exam students take at 18-19 to gain access to university) and began his studies at the Zurich Polytechnic (today's ETH Zurich).
You may have often heard that Einstein failed maths. That's not true! He had a 6 in maths, which in Switzerland is the best grade you can get.
After graduating in 1901, Einstein worked as a substitute teacher and tutor because his applications for assistant positions at the Zurich Polytechnic were rejected. In 1902 Einstein got a job as a so-called technical expert at the patent office in Bern, which was arranged for him by his friend Marcel Grossmann.
Fig. 1. A portrait of Albert Einstein.
One of the most important years for Einstein's scientific life was 1905. Several of his most important works were published that year, in particular:
- His work on the photoelectric effect, for which Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize.
- A work on Brownian molecular motion.
- His work on the special theory of relativity, in which Einstein's most famous formula was mentioned for the first time.
- He also completed his dissertation "Eine neue Bestimmung der Moleküldimensionen" ("A New Determination of Molecular Dimensions"), and his official doctorate followed in 1906.
From his thoughts on special relativity, Einstein developed the famous General Theory of Relativity from 1907 to 1915, which described the influence of matter on space-time and gave a new picture of gravity. During this period, Einstein was habilitated at the University of Bern, and taught at the University of Zurich and the University of Prague.
In 1914, Einstein returned to Germany and accepted a position as a professor at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics, where Einstein found the time to complete the General Theory of Relativity.
In 1922, Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize "for his services to theoretical physics, especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect".
In 1932, at a time of increasing political instability in Germany, Einstein emigrated to America and took a position at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University. He worked here until his retirement.
Einstein died on the 18th of April 1955 at the age of 76 of the rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. The enlarged wall of his aorta burst and he refused to undergo an operation to treat it.
Albert Einstein's Family and Interests
Albert Einstein met his first wife, Mileva Marić, while studying at ETH Zurich. Marić was also a mathematician and physicist. She was indeed the second woman to finish a full program of study at the Department of Mathematics and Physics at ETH Zurich, and the only woman in her year. Einstein and Marić were collaborators as well as a couple. The debate as to whether Marić contributed significantly to Eintein's theories and papers is still ongoing.
Einstein and Marić married on 6th January 1903 in Bern. It seems that after their marriage, Marić's scientific career was stunted. Einstein and Mileva had a daughter, Lieserl, and later two sons, Hans Albert and Eduard. To this day it is still unclear what happened with their daughter. She was probably born in 1902/1903 and either died young or was given up for adoption. Her existence only became known in 1987 from personal correspondence between Marić and Einstein.
Einstein's marriage with Marić came to an end in 1919, although they had separated before. Marić has taken the couple's sons after the separation. She agreed to the divorce only on the condition that she would receive the money for the Nobel Prize if Einstein won it.
In the same year of the divorce, Albert Einstein married his cousin Elsa, who brought her two daughters into the marriage. In 1936 Elsa Einstein died in Princeton, New Jersey.
In 1939 Einstein's sister Maja joined Einstein in exile from Nazi Germany, as Einstein's family was Jewish. She lived with Einstein in his Princeton home until her death in 1951.
Albert Einstein's political convictions and interests
Albert Einstein was a convinced pacifist and socialist. He was concerned about political developments in Europe and opposed fascism and National Socialism. In 1932 he emigrated to the USA because he no longer felt safe in Germany. In the USA, he campaigned for peace and justice and supported numerous political and social movements.
Furthermore, Alber Einstein was a man with many interests and passions. He was an enthusiastic musician and played the piano and violin. He was also a passionate reader and interested in philosophy, art and natural sciences. He was vegetarian and opposed all forms of violence, including hunting. In his spare time, he enjoyed walking alone in nature and solving problems.
What did Albert Einstein discover?
During his life, Albert Einstein was involved in many important discoveries and inventions that are still of very high importance for the understanding of modern physics.
General Theory of Relativity
Einstein published the General Theory of Relativity in 1915. The General Theory of Relativity explains that gravity should not be considered as a force exerted on bodies, but as a consequence of the distortion of the space-time continuum by massive objects. This theory has fundamental implications for our understanding of space, time, gravity and much more. Einstein's most famous formula is related to the theory of relativity:
\[E = mc^2\]
where E stands for the energy of a particle, m for the mass of that particle and c for the speed of light. In other words, he established that the energy of a particle is proportional to its mass.
It was only in 2015 that experimental evidence was found for the gravitational waves predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity. The event was recorded at the LIGO detector and was generated by the collision of two black holes. The discoverers were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for it in 2017.
Gravitational waves are temporally and spatially propagating distortions of space-time triggered by accelerating masses.
Special Theory of Relativity
Einstein stated in 1905 that the laws of physics must be the same for all observers, regardless of whether or not they are moving at a constant speed. This led to the concept of the relativity of observers.
One of the most well-known effects of special relativity is time dilation. This means that time passes more slowly for an object in motion than for an object at rest. This can be expressed mathematically as follows:
\[\Delta t' = \frac {\Delta t}{\sqrt{1-\frac{v^2}{c^2}}}\]
Where Δt is the duration of time for an observer at rest, Δt' is the duration of time for an observer in motion, v is the speed of the object in motion and c is the speed of light.
Imagine you are flying in a rocket at 99.9% of the speed of light relative to the Earth. For you, time passes quite "normally". On Earth, however, time passes 22.4 times faster. In those conditions, when 10 years have gone by for you, it will have been 224 years on Earth!
The Photoelectric Effect
Einstein received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for his work on the photoelectric effect. He discovered that light can exist not only as electromagnetic waves but also as particles (photons).
Einstein explained the photoelectric effect with the idea that photons can transmit their energy to material particles through absorption. This transfer of energy can cause particles to shoot out of the material.
This can be represented mathematically by the formula:
\[E = hf\]
Where E is the energy of the photon, h is Planck's constant and f is the frequency of the light.
The photoelectric effect has had far-reaching effects on modern physics and has contributed to the development of technologies such as solar cells and photodetectors.
Solar cells are electronic components of solar panels that can turn the energy of solar light directly into electricity through the photovoltaic effect.
Photodetectors are optoelectronic devices which can transform UV, visible and infrared radiation into electrical signals.
Fig. 2. Solar panels. Source: Unsplash.
Albert Einstein's IQ
Albert Einstein's IQ (intelligence quotient) is often considered exceptionally high, although there is no official number. Einstein's IQ is estimated to have been between 160 and 190, making him one of the most intelligent people of all time.
However, it is important to note that IQ tests only measure one particular aspect of intelligence and there are many other forms of intelligence that are not included in IQ tests. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that Einstein was an extremely gifted and brilliant mind and is one of the world's greatest scientists.
Quotes by Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein is not only known for his scientific discoveries, but also for his profound and inspiring quotes. Here are some of his most famous quotes:
- "Imagination is more important than knowledge."
- "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."
- "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing."
- "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe."
Albert Einstein's death
Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955, at the age of 76 at the Princeton Hospital in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. He suffered a haemorrhage that required medical intervention, but he refused it. He approached the end of his life with calmness, and accepted that it was time allegedly better than those around him.
After his death, a surgeon removed his brain without the consent of Eintein's family. He studied the brain of one of the most renowned scientists of all time for many years, until 2007.
Albert Einstein Facts
Here are some more obscure facts about Einstein:
Einstein became a Swiss citizen in 1901 and renounced his German citizenship in 1933. He became an American citizen in 1940.
Einstein published his famous equation, \(E=mc^2\), in 1905 as part of his theory of special relativity.
Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for his explanation of the photoelectric effect.
Einstein was a pacifist and advocated for disarmament, even during times of war.
Einstein's brain was preserved after his death and studied by scientists to try to understand what made him so intelligent.
Albert Einstein - Key takeaways
- Einstein was born in Ulm on the 14th of March, 1879.
- Several of Einstein's most important works were published in 1905, in particular:
- His work on the photoelectric effect, for which Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize.
- A work on Brownian molecular motion.
- His work on the special theory of relativity, in which Einstein's most famous formula was mentioned for the first time (\(E = mc^2\)).
- He also completed his dissertation "A New Determination of Molecular Dimensions", and his official doctorate followed in 1906.
- Einstein completed his work on general relativity in 1915.
- In 1922, Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize "for his services to theoretical physics, especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect".
- Einstein died on the 18th of April 1955 at the age of 76.
References
- https://press.princeton.edu/ideas/the-final-days-of-albert-einstein
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