|
Albert Einstein
Early Education
Albert Einstein was born in 14 March 1879 in Ulm, Württemberg, Germany. In 1880 his family moved to Munich where he would spend most of his childhood. Einstein attended Catholic Elementary School in spite of being Jewish. Religious studies were conducted at home. After Elementary School, Einstein attended Luitpold-Gymnasium, a secondary school. In 1894, while he was still attending the Gymnasium, his parents moved to Milan. Six months later Einstein dropped out of Gymnasium and joined his family in Pavia, Italy. Einstein attended Cantonal School in Aarau, Switzerland for the next two years and in 1896, at the age of 17, he renounced his German Citizenship. Einstein next attended the Polytechnic, Zurich, for four years. In 1901 Einstein acquired Swiss citizenship.
Annus Mirabilis
Albert Einstein completed his first scientific paper while teaching at a school in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, in 1901. In 1902 Einstein took a job as a Patent Clerk Third Class. In 1905, a year referred to as his "Annus Mirabilis" or "miraculous year", he completed papers on Light Quanta, Brownian Motion, and Special Theory of Relativity as well as received his Ph.D. from Zurich University. The work from this year was Einstein's defining moment though it would take years for the impact of these papers to be fully understood. The four papers from Einstein's Annus Mirabilis were:
"Concerning an Heuristic Point of View Toward The Emission and Transformation of Light" Annalen der Physik 17 (1905): 132-148 (translated)
"On the Movement of Small Particles Suspended in Stationary Liquids Required by the Molecular-Kinetic Theory of Heat" Annalen der Physik 17 (1905): 549-560
"On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies" Annalen der Physik 17 (1905): 891-921 (translated)
"Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon its Energy Content?" Annalen der Physik 18 (1905): 639-641 (translated)
(Continued) In 1921, Einstein won the Nobel Prize for Physics for his work in the first paper listed above on the quantization of light. The second paper listed above was on Brownian Motion. The third and fourth Papers are regarding special relativity. Interestingly though, his Nobel Lecture from 1921 was on General Relativity, which he formulated in a paper in 1916.
Professor Einstein
In 1906, Einstein was promoted to technical expert second class at the Swiss Patent office and he continued his work. Over the next 10 years, Einstein accepted positions at various Universities including; a Lecturer at Bern University, Associate Professor of Theoretical Physics at Zurich University, Professor of Theoretical Physics at German University of Prague, Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Professor at the University of Berlin, and Member of Prussian Academy of Sciences. In 1917 Einstein was appointed Director of Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics in Berlin, a position he would keep till 1933, when we would resign to immigrate to the United States. In 1919, the bending of light observed during a solar eclipse in West Africa and Brazil was observed and confirmed predictions made by special relativity. The result catapults Einstein to worldwide fame. Two years later he won the Nobel Prize. Later in the twenties, Einstein launched into a highly public and intense debate with Niels Bohr on the foundations of quantum mechanics. The probabilistic nature inherent in the theory bothered Einstein prompting his famous saying "God Doesn't Play Dice".
In 1932, after several lecturing tours of the United States, Einstein was appointed Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. Einstein, though a pacifist for most of his life, was a staunch supporter of the American effort in World War II. In a 1939 letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt recommending U.S. research on nuclear weapons, a decision he later regretted. In 1940 becomes a US citizen. After the war, Einstein actively promoted disarmament and world government. During the Hearings by the Un-American Activities Committee, he spoke out in support of the accused. Albert Einstein died at Princeton Hospital, April 18 1955, he was 76.
Special Thanks to the Following Source:
Albert Einstein Website
(Did we forget something? Do you have something to add? Submit a comment and let us know)
| 
Bending of light
