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Albert Einstein
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Image:Einstein In Overcoat edit.jpg thumb|right|222px|Albert Einstein, photographed by Oren J. Turner in 1947.
'''Albert Einstein''' (
March 14,
1879 –
April 18,
1955) was a
Germany German-born
theoretical physics theoretical physicist widely regarded as the most important
scientist of the 20th century. He was the author of the
general relativity general theory of relativity and made important contributions to the
special relativity special theory of relativity,
quantum mechanics,
statistical mechanics, and
physical cosmology cosmology. He was awarded the 1921
Nobel Prize in Physics Nobel Prize for Physics for his explanation of the
photoelectric effect in 1905 (his "
Annus Mirabilis Papers miracle year") and "for his services to Theoretical Physics".
After British
solar eclipse expeditions in 1919 confirmed that
ray (optics) light rays from distant
stars were deflected by the
gravitation gravity of the
Sun in the exact amount he had predicted in his theory of relativity, Einstein became world-famous, an unusual achievement for a scientist. In his later years, his fame perhaps exceeded that of any other scientist in
history of science and technology history. In
popular culture, his name has become synonymous with great
intelligence (trait) intelligence and
genius.
Biography
Youth and college
Image:Young Albert Einstein.jpg Germany.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|left|250px|Young Einstein before the Einsteins moved from [[Germany to
Italy..html" title="Meaning of left|250px|Young Einstein before the Einsteins moved from [[Germany">thumb|left|250px|Young Einstein before the Einsteins moved from [[Germany to
Italy.">left|250px|Young Einstein before the Einsteins moved from [[Germany">thumb|left|250px|Young Einstein before the Einsteins moved from [[Germany to
Italy.
Einstein was born on
March 14,
1879 at
Ulm in
Baden-Württemberg,
German Empire, about 100 km east of
Stuttgart. His parents were Hermann Einstein, a featherbed salesman who later ran an
electrochemistry electrochemical works, and Pauline, ''née'' Koch. They were married in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt. The family was
Jewish (non-observant); Albert attended a
Catholic school Catholic elementary school and, at the insistence of his mother, was given
violin lessons. Though he initially disliked the lessons, and eventually discontinued them, he would later take great solace in
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Mozart's
violin sonatas.
When Einstein was five, his father showed him a pocket
compass, and Einstein realized that something in "empty" space acted upon the needle; he would later describe the experience as one of the most revelatory of his life. Though he built
model (physical) models and
machine mechanical devices for fun and showed great mathematical faculty early on, he was considered a slow learner, possibly due to
dyslexia, simple
shyness, or the significantly rare and unusual structure of
Albert Einstein's brain his brain (examined after his death).{{rf|1|brain}} He later credited his development of the theory of relativity to this slowness, saying that by pondering space and time later than most children, he was able to apply a more developed intellect. Some researchers have speculated that Einstein may have exhibited some traits of mild forms of
autism, although they concede that a reliable posthumous diagnosis is impossible.{{rf|2|autism}}
In 1889, a medical student named Max Talmud (later: Talmey) introduced Einstein to key science and
philosophy texts, including
Immanuel Kant Kant's ''
Critique of Pure Reason''. Two of his uncles would further foster his intellectual interests during his late childhood and early adolescence by recommending and providing books on science, mathematics and philosophy.
Einstein attended the
Luitpold Gymnasium, where he received a relatively progressive education. He began to learn
mathematics around age twelve; in 1891, he taught himself
Euclidean geometry Euclidean plane geometry from a school booklet and began to study
calculus. There is a recurring rumor that Einstein failed mathematics later in his education, but this is untrue; a change in the way grades were assigned caused confusion years later. However, while at the Gymnasium, he clashed with authority and resented the school regimen, believing that the spirit of learning and creative thought were lost in such endeavors as strict
rote learning memorization.
In 1894, following the failure of Hermann Einstein's electrochemical business, the Einsteins moved from
Munich to
Pavia, a city in
Italy near
Milan. Einstein's first scientific work, called "''The Investigation of the State of
aether theories Aether in
magnetic field Magnetic Fields''", was written contemporaneously. Albert remained behind in Munich lodgings to finish school, completing only one term before leaving the
gymnasium (school) gymnasium in the spring of 1895 to rejoin his family in Pavia. He quit a year and a half prior to final examinations without telling his parents, convincing the school to let him go with a medical note from a friendly doctor, but this meant that he had no
secondary education secondary-school certificate.{{rf|3|Highfield1}} That year, at the age of 16, he performed the
thought experiment known as "Albert Einstein's mirror". After gazing into a mirror, he examined what would happen to his image if he were moving at the
speed of light; his conclusion, that the speed of light is independent of the observer, would later become one of the two
postulates of special relativity.
Although he excelled in the mathematics and science portion of the ''
ETH Zurich Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule'' (ETH, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, in
Zürich) entrance exam the following year, his failure of the liberal arts portion was a setback; his family sent him to
Aarau,
Switzerland to finish secondary school. There, he studied the seldom-taught
James Clerk Maxwell Maxwell's classical electromagnetism electromagnetic theory and received his diploma in September 1896. During this time, he lodged with Professor Jost Winteler's family and became enamoured with Marie, their daughter and his first sweetheart. Einstein's sister, Maja, who was perhaps his closest confidant, was to later marry their son, Paul, and his friend,
Michele Besso, married their other daughter, Anna.{{rf.html">Olsberg, Switzerland for a teaching post. The same year, he renounced his
Württemberg citizenship and became
stateless person stateless.html" title="Meaning of Highfield2}} Einstein subsequently enrolled at the ''Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule'' in October and moved to Zürich, while Marie moved to stateless">stateless.
In the spring of 1896, the
Serbian
Mileva Marić started initially as a medical student at the
University of Zurich, but after a term switched to the same section as Einstein as the only woman that year to study for the same diploma. Einstein's relationship with Marić developed into romance over the next few years.
In 1900, Einstein was granted a teaching diploma by the ''Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule'' (
ETH Zurich). Einstein then wrote his first published paper, on the
capillary action capillary forces of a drinking straw, titled "''Folgerungen aus den Capillaritätserscheinungen''", which translated is "''Consequences of the observations of capillarity phenomena''" (found in "''Annalen der Physik''" volume 4, page 513). In it, he tried to unify the
physical law laws of physics, an attempt he would continually make throughout his life. Through his friend Michelle Besso, an
engineer, Einstein was presented with the works of
Ernst Mach, and would later consider him "the best sounding board in Europe" for physical ideas. During this time, Einstein discussed his scientific interests with a group of close friends, including Besso and Marić. The men referred to themselves as the "Olympia Academy". Einstein and Marić had a daughter out of wedlock,
Lieserl Einstein, born in January 1902. Her fate is unknown; some believe she died in infancy, while others believe she was given out for adoption.
Work and doctorate
Image:Einstein patentoffice.jpg Annus Mirabilis Papers.html" title="Meaning of frame frame|right||Einstein in 1905, when he wrote the "''[[Annus Mirabilis Papers''".html" title="Meaning of right||Einstein in 1905, when he wrote the "''[[Annus Mirabilis Papers">frame|right||Einstein in 1905, when he wrote the "''[[Annus Mirabilis Papers''"">right||Einstein in 1905, when he wrote the "''[[Annus Mirabilis Papers">frame|right||Einstein in 1905, when he wrote the "''[[Annus Mirabilis Papers''"
Upon graduation, Einstein could not find a teaching post, mostly because his brashness as a young man had apparently irritated most of his professors. The father of a classmate helped him obtain employment as a technical assistant
patent clerk examiner at the Swiss Patent Office{{rf|5|www.ipi.ch.376}} in 1902. There, Einstein judged the worth of
inventors'
patent applications for devices that required a knowledge of physics to understand — in particular he was chiefly charged to evaluate patents relating to electromagnetic devices.{{rf|6|Galison368}} He also learned how to discern the essence of applications despite sometimes poor descriptions, and was taught by the director how "to express [him]self correctly". He occasionally rectified their design errors while evaluating the practicality of their work.
Einstein married
Mileva Marić on
January 6,
1903. Einstein's marriage to Marić, who was a mathematician, was both a personal and intellectual partnership: Einstein referred to Mileva as "a creature who is my equal and who is as strong and independent as I am".
Ronald W. Clark, a biographer of Einstein, claimed that Einstein depended on the distance that existed in his and Mileva's marriage in order to have the solitude necessary to accomplish his work; he required intellectual isolation.
Abram Joffe, a Soviet physicist who knew Einstein, in an obituary of Einstein, wrote, "The author of [the papers of 1905] was ... a bureaucrat at the Patent Office in Bern, Einstein-Marić" and this has recently been taken as evidence of a collaborative relationship. However, according to Alberto A. Martínez of the Center for Einstein Studies at Boston University, Joffe only ascribed authorship to Einstein, as he believed that it was a Swiss custom at the time to append the spouse's last name to the husband's name.{{rf|7|physicsweb.org.377}} Whatever the truth, the extent of her influence on Einstein's work is a highly controversial and debated question.
In 1903, Einstein's position at the
Swiss Patent Office had been made permanent, though he was passed over for promotion until he had "fully mastered machine technology".{{rf.html">Doctor of Philosophy
doctorate after submitting his thesis "''A new determination of molecular dimensions''" ("''Eine neue Bestimmung der Moleküldimensionen''") in 1905.
That same year, he wrote four articles that participated in the foundation of modern physics, without much
scientific literature to which he could refer or many scientific colleagues with whom he could discuss the theories. Most physicists agree that three of those papers (on
Brownian motion, the
photoelectric effect, and
special relativity) deserved
Nobel Prizes. Only the paper on the photoelectric effect would be mentioned by the Nobel committee in the award. This is ironic, not only because Einstein is far better-known for relativity, but also because the photoelectric effect is a quantum phenomenon, and Einstein became somewhat disenchanted with the path
quantum mechanics quantum theory would take.
Image:Max-Planck-und-Albert-Einstein.jpg Max_Planck.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|left|222px|[[Max Planck presents Einstein with the Max-Planck medal, Berlin June 28, 1929.html" title="Meaning of left|222px|[[Max Planck">thumb|left|222px|[[Max Planck presents Einstein with the Max-Planck medal, Berlin June 28, 1929">left|222px|[[Max Planck">thumb|left|222px|[[Max Planck presents Einstein with the Max-Planck medal, Berlin June 28, 1929
=Annus Mirabilis Papers
=
{{details|Annus Mirabilis Papers}}
Einstein submitted the series of papers to the "''Annalen der Physik''". They are commonly referred to as the "''
Annus Mirabilis Papers''" (from
List of Latin phrases ''Annus mirabilis'',
Latin for 'year of wonders'). The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (
IUPAP) commemorated the 100th year of the publication of Einstein's extensive work in 1905 as the '
World Year of Physics 2005'.
The first paper, named "''On a Heuristic Viewpoint Concerning the Production and Transformation of Light''", ("''Über einen die Erzeugung und Verwandlung des Lichtes betreffenden heuristischen Gesichtspunkt''") proposed that "energy quanta" (which are essentially what we now call
photons) were real, and showed how they could be used to explain such phenomena as the
photoelectric effect. This paper was specifically cited for his Nobel Prize.
Max Planck had made the formal assumption that energy was quantized in deriving his black-body radiation law, published in 1901, but had considered this to be no more than a mathematical trick. The photoelectric effect thus provided a simple confirmation of Max Planck's hypothesis of quanta.
His second article in 1905, named "''On the Motion—Required by the Molecular Kinetic Theory of Heat—of Small Particles Suspended in a Stationary Liquid''", ("''
Über die von der molekularkinetischen Theorie der Wärme geforderte Bewegung von in ruhenden Flüssigkeiten suspendierten Teilchen''") covered his study of
Brownian motion, and provided empirical evidence for the existence of atoms. Before this paper,
atoms were recognized as a useful concept, but
physicists and
chemists hotly debated whether atoms were real entities. Einstein's statistical discussion of atomic behavior gave
experimentalists a way to count atoms by looking through an ordinary
microscope.
Wilhelm Ostwald, one of the leaders of the anti-atom school, later told
Arnold Sommerfeld that he had been converted to a belief in atoms by Einstein's complete explanation of Brownian motion.{{rf|9|smoluchowski}}
Einstein's third paper that year, "''On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies''" ("''Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter Körper''"), was published in September 1905. This paper introduced the
special relativity special theory of relativity, a theory of time, distance, mass and energy which was consistent with
electromagnetism, but omitted the force of
gravity. While developing this paper, Einstein wrote to Mileva about "our work on relative motion", and this has led some to ask whether Mileva played a part in its development. A few historians of science believe that Einstein and his wife were both aware that the famous Frenchman
Henri Poincaré had already published the equations of Relativity, a few weeks before Einstein submitted his paper; most believe their work was independent, especially given Einstein's isolation at this time. Similarly, it's debatable if he knew the 1904 paper of Lorentz which contained most of the theory and to which Poincaré referred. See also
relativity priority dispute.
In a fourth paper, "''Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?''", ("''Ist die Trägheit eines Körpers von seinem Energieinhalt abhängig?''"), published late in 1905, he showed that from relativity's
axioms, it is possible to deduce the famous equation that the
energy of a body at rest (''E'') equals its mass (''m'') times the speed of light (''c'') squared: ''
E=mc² E = mc²''. He was the first to present that equation together with the interpretation that mass is a measure for energy content.
Middle years
Image:Einstein 1911 Solvay.jpg Solvay Conference.html" title="Meaning of frame frame|right|Einstein at the 1911 [[Solvay Conference..html" title="Meaning of right|Einstein at the 1911 [[Solvay Conference">frame|right|Einstein at the 1911 [[Solvay Conference.">right|Einstein at the 1911 [[Solvay Conference">frame|right|Einstein at the 1911 [[Solvay Conference.
In 1906, Einstein was promoted to technical examiner second class. In 1908, Einstein was licensed in
Bern, Switzerland, as a
Privatdozent (unsalaried teacher at a university). During this time, Einstein described why the sky is blue in his paper on the phenomenon of
critical opalescence, which shows the cumulative effect of
scattering of light by individual molecules in the atmosphere.[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/genius/] In 1911, Einstein became first associate
professor at the
University of Zurich, and shortly afterwards full professor at the (German)
University of Prague, only to return the following year to
Zurich in order to become full professor at the
ETH Zurich. At that time, he worked closely with the
mathematician Marcel Grossmann. In 1912, Einstein started to refer to
time as the
fourth dimension (although
H.G. Wells had done this earlier, in 1895 in ''
The Time Machine'').
In 1914, just before the start of
World War I, Einstein settled in
Berlin as professor at the local
University of Berlin university and became a member of the
Prussian Academy of Sciences. He took German citizenship. His
pacifism and
Jewish origins irked German nationalists. After he became world-famous, nationalistic hatred of him grew and for the first time he was the subject of an organized campaign to discredit his theories. From 1914 to 1933, he served as director of the
Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics in Berlin. He also held the position of
Professor#Netherlands extraordinary professor at the
Leiden University University of Leiden from 1920 until 1946, where he regularly gave guest lectures.
In 1917, Einstein published "''On the Quantum Mechanics of Radiation''" ("''Zur Quantenmechanik der Strahlung''", Physkalische Zeitschrift 18, 121-128). This article introduced the concept of
stimulated emission, the physical principle that allows light amplification in the
laser. He also published a paper that year that used the general theory of relativity to model the behavior of the entire universe, setting the stage for modern
physical cosmology cosmology. In this work he created his self-described "worst blunder", the
cosmological constant.
On
May 14,
1904, Albert and Mileva's first son,
Hans Albert Einstein, was born. Their second son,
Eduard Einstein, was born on
July 28,
1910. Hans Albert became a professor of
hydraulic engineering at the
University of California, Berkeley, having little interaction with his father. Eduard, the younger brother, intended to practice as a
psychoanalyst Freudian analyst but was institutionalized for
schizophrenia and died in an asylum. Einstein divorced Mileva on
February 14,
1919, and married his cousin
Elsa Löwenthal (born Einstein: Löwenthal was the surname of her first husband, Max) on
June 2,
1919. Elsa was Albert's first cousin (maternally) and his second cousin (paternally). She was three years older than Albert, and had nursed him to health after he had suffered a partial nervous breakdown combined with a severe stomach ailment; there were no children from this marriage.
Image:Einstein theory triumphs.png New York Times.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|left|222px|"Einstein theory triumphs," declared the ''[[New York Times'' on
November 10 1919..html" title="Meaning of left|222px|"Einstein theory triumphs," declared the ''[[New York Times">thumb|left|222px|"Einstein theory triumphs," declared the ''[[New York Times'' on
November 10 1919.">left|222px|"Einstein theory triumphs," declared the ''[[New York Times">thumb|left|222px|"Einstein theory triumphs," declared the ''[[New York Times'' on
November 10 1919.
=General relativity
=
In November 1915, Einstein presented a series of lectures before the Prussian Academy of Sciences in which he described his theory of
gravity, known as
general relativity. The final lecture ended with his introduction of an equation that replaced
Newton's law of gravity, the Field Equation.{{rf|10|Thorne}} This theory considered all observers to be equivalent, not only those moving at a uniform speed. In general relativity, gravity is no longer a force (as it is in Newton's law of gravity) but is a consequence of the curvature of
space-time.
In 1919, predictions made using the theory were confirmed by
Arthur Stanley Eddington Arthur Eddington's measurements (during a
solar eclipse), of how much the light emanating from a star was
Gravitational lens bent by the
Sun's gravity when it passed close to the Sun, an effect called gravitational lensing. The observations were carried out on
May 29,
1919, at two locations, one in
Sobral, Ceará,
Brazil, and another in the island of
Principe, in the west coast of
Africa. On
November 7, ''
The Times'' reported the confirmation, cementing Einstein's fame.
Many scientists were still unconvinced for various reasons ranging from disagreement with Einstein's interpretation of the experiments, to not being able to tolerate the absence of an absolute frame of reference. In Einstein's view, many of them simply could not understand the mathematics involved{{fact}}. Einstein's public fame which followed the 1919 article created resentment among these scientists some of which lasted well into the 1930s.
On
March 30,
1921, Einstein went to
New York City New York to give a lecture on his new Theory of Relativity, the same year he was awarded the Nobel Prize. Though he is now most famous for his work on relativity, it was for his earlier work on the
photoelectric effect that he was given the Prize, as his work on general relativity was still disputed. The Nobel committee decided that citing his less-contested theory in the Prize would gain more acceptance from the scientific community.
=The "Copenhagen" interpretation
=
Image:Niels Bohr Albert Einstein by Ehrenfest.jpg Niels Bohr.html" title="Meaning of right right|thumb|200px|Einstein and [[Niels Bohr sparred over
quantum theory during the 1920s. Photo taken by
Paul Ehrenfest during their visit to Leiden in December 1925.html" title="Meaning of thumb|200px|Einstein and [[Niels Bohr">right|thumb|200px|Einstein and [[Niels Bohr sparred over
quantum theory during the 1920s. Photo taken by
Paul Ehrenfest during their visit to Leiden in December 1925">thumb|200px|Einstein and [[Niels Bohr">right|thumb|200px|Einstein and [[Niels Bohr sparred over
quantum theory during the 1920s. Photo taken by
Paul Ehrenfest during their visit to Leiden in December 1925
Einstein postulated that light can be described not only as a wave with no kinetic energy, but also as massless discrete packets of energy called quanta with measurable kinetic energy (now known as photons). In 1909 Einstein presented his first paper on the quantification of light to a gathering of physicists and told them that they must find some way to understand waves and particles together.
In the mid-1920s, as the original quantum theory was replaced with a new theory of
quantum mechanics, Einstein balked at the
Copenhagen interpretation of the new equations either because it settled for a probabilistic, non-visualizable account of physical behaviour, or because it described matter as being in necessarily contradictory states. However, Einstein agreed that the theory was the best available{{fact}}, but he looked for a more "complete" explanation, i.e., either more
scientific determinism deterministic or one that could more fundamentally explain the reason for probabilities in a logical way. He could not abandon the belief that physics described the laws that govern "real things", nor could he abandon the belief that there are no explanations that contain contradictions, which had driven him to his successes explaining photons, relativity, atoms, and gravity.
In a 1926 letter to
Max Born, Einstein made a remark that is now famous:
: ''Quantum mechanics is certainly imposing. But an inner voice tells me it is not yet the real thing. The theory says a lot, but does not really bring us any closer to the secret of the Old One. I, at any rate, am convinced that He does not throw dice.''
To this,
Niels Bohr Bohr, who sparred with Einstein on quantum theory, retorted, "Stop telling God what He must do!" The
Bohr-Einstein debates on foundational aspects of quantum mechanics happened during the
Solvay Conferences.
Einstein was not rejecting probabilistic theories ''per se''. He believed, however, that at the core reality behaved
scientific determinism deterministically. Many physicists argue that experimental evidence contradicting this belief was found much later with the discovery of
Bell's Theorem and
Bell's inequality.
=Bose-Einstein statistics
=
In 1924, Einstein received a short paper from a young
Indian physicist named
Satyendra Nath Bose describing light as a gas of photons and asking for Einstein's assistance in publication. Einstein realized that the same statistics could be applied to atoms, and published an article in
German language German (then the
lingua franca of physics) which described Bose's model and explained its implications.
Bose-Einstein statistics now describe any assembly of these
identical particles indistinguishable particles known as
bosons. The
Bose-Einstein condensate phenomenon was predicted in the 1920s by Bose and Einstein, based on Bose's work on the statistical mechanics of photons, which was then formalized and generalized by Einstein. The first such condensate was produced by
Eric Cornell and
Carl Wieman in 1995 at the
University of Colorado at Boulder. Einstein's original sketches on this theory were recovered in August 2005 in the library of
Leiden University.{{rf|11|www.lorentz.leidenuniv.nl.378}}
Einstein also assisted
Erwin Schrödinger in the development of the
quantum Boltzmann distribution, a mixed classical and quantum mechanical gas model although he realized that this was less significant than the Bose-Einstein model and declined to have his name included on the paper.
=The Einstein refrigerator
=
Image:Einstein Refrigerator.png Leó Szilárd thumb|right|222px|Einstein and [[Leó Szilárd|Szilárd's patent diagram for the
Einstein Refrigerator..html" title="Meaning of Szilárd's.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|222px|Einstein and [[Leó Szilárd|Szilárd's">thumb|right|222px|Einstein and [[Leó Szilárd|Szilárd's patent diagram for the
Einstein Refrigerator.">Szilárd's.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|222px|Einstein and [[Leó Szilárd|Szilárd's">thumb|right|222px|Einstein and [[Leó Szilárd|Szilárd's patent diagram for the
Einstein Refrigerator.
Einstein and former student
Leó Szilárd co-invented a unique type of
refrigeration refrigerator (usually called the
Einstein refrigerator) in 1926.{{rf.html">November 11,
1930, {{US patent
1,781,541}} was awarded to Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd. The patent covered a thermodynamic refrigeration cycle providing cooling with no moving parts, at a constant pressure, with only
heat as an input. The refrigeration cycle used
ammonia,
butane, and
water (molecule) water.
=World War II
=
When
Adolf Hitler came to power in January
1933, Einstein was a guest professor at
Princeton University, a position which he took in December
1932, after an invitation from the American educator,
Abraham Flexner. In 1933, the
Nazism Nazis passed "
The Law of the Restoration of the Civil Service" which forced all Jewish university professors out of their jobs, and throughout the 1930s a campaign to label Einstein's work as "Jewish physics"—in contrast with "German" or "Aryan physics"—was led by Nobel laureates
Philipp Lenard and
Johannes Stark. With the assistance of the
SS, the ''
Deutsche Physik'' supporters worked to publish pamphlets and textbooks denigrating Einstein's theories and attempted to politically
blacklist German physicists who taught them, notably
Werner Heisenberg. Einstein renounced his German citizenship and stayed in the
United States, where he was given permanent residency. He accepted a position at the newly founded
Institute for Advanced Study in
Princeton Township, New Jersey Princeton Township,
New Jersey. He became an American citizen in 1940, though he still retained Swiss citizenship.
In 1939, under the encouragement of Szilárd, Einstein
Einstein-Szilárd letter sent a letter to President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt urging the study of
nuclear fission for military purposes, under fears that the Nazi government would be first to develop
atomic weapons. Roosevelt started a small investigation into the matter which eventually became the massive
Manhattan Project. Einstein himself did not work on the bomb project, however.
The
International Rescue Committee was founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein to assist opponents of Adolf Hitler.
For more information, see the section below on Einstein's
#Political views political views.
=Institute for Advanced Study
=
His work at the Institute for Advanced Study focused on the unification of the
physical law laws of physics, which he referred to as the ''Unified Field Theory''. He attempted to construct a model which would describe all of the
fundamental forces as different manifestations of a single force. This took the form of an attempt to unify the gravitational and electrodynamic forces, but was hindered because the
strong interaction strong and
weak nuclear forces were not understood independently until around
1970, fifteen years after Einstein's death. Einstein's goal of unifying the laws of physics under a single model survives in the current drive for
Grand unification theory unification of the forces.
=Generalized theory
=
Einstein began to form a
generalized theory of gravitation with the Universal Law of Gravitation and the electromagnetic force in his first attempt to demonstrate the unification and simplification of the fundamental forces. In 1950 he described his work in a ''
Scientific American'' article. Einstein was guided by a belief in a single statistical measure of variance for the entire set of physical laws. Einstein's Generalized Theory of Gravitation is a universal mathematical approach to field theory. He investigated reducing the different phenomena by the process of logic to something already known or evident.
Einstein postulated a four-dimensional space-time continuum expressed in axioms represented by five component vectors. Particles appear in his research as a limited region in space in which the field strength or the energy density are particularly high. Einstein treated subatomic particles as objects embedded in the unified field, influencing it and existing as an essential constituent of the unified field but not of it. Einstein also investigated a natural generalization of symmetrical tensor fields, treating the combination of two parts of the field as being a natural procedure of the total field and not the symmetrical and antisymmetrical parts separately. He researched a way to delineate the equations and systems to be derived from a
variational principle.
Einstein became increasingly isolated in his research on a generalized theory of gravitation and was ultimately unsuccessful in his attempts. In particular, his pursuit of a unification of the fundamental forces ignored work in the physics community at large, most notably the discovery of the
strong nuclear force and
weak nuclear force.
Image:Einstein house in Princeton.jpg Greek revival.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|left|222px|Einstein's two-story house, white frame with front porch in [[Greek revival style, in
Princeton, New Jersey Princeton (112 Mercer Street)..html" title="Meaning of left|222px|Einstein's two-story house, white frame with front porch in [[Greek revival">thumb|left|222px|Einstein's two-story house, white frame with front porch in [[Greek revival style, in
Princeton, New Jersey Princeton (112 Mercer Street).">left|222px|Einstein's two-story house, white frame with front porch in [[Greek revival">thumb|left|222px|Einstein's two-story house, white frame with front porch in [[Greek revival style, in
Princeton, New Jersey Princeton (112 Mercer Street).
Final years
In 1948, Einstein served on the original committee which resulted in the founding of
Brandeis University. A portrait of Einstein was taken by
Yousuf Karsh on
February 11 of that same year. In 1952, the
Israeli government proposed to Einstein that he take the post of second president. He declined the offer, and is believed to be the only United States citizen ever to have been offered a position as a foreign head of state. On
March 30,
1953, Einstein released a revised unified
Field (physics) field theory.
He died at 1:15 AM[http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/ein.html] in Princeton hospital[http://www.princetonhistory.org/museum_alberteinstein.cfm] in
Princeton, New Jersey, on
April 18,
1955 at the age of 76 from internal bleeding, which was caused by the rupture of an
aortic aneurism, leaving the Generalized Theory of Gravitation unsolved. The only person present at his deathbed, a hospital nurse, said that just before his death he mumbled several words in
German language German that she did not understand. He was
cremation cremated without ceremony on the same day he died at
Trenton, New Jersey, in accordance with his wishes. His ashes were scattered at an undisclosed location.
An autopsy was performed on Einstein by Dr.
Thomas Stoltz Harvey, who removed and preserved
Albert Einstein's brain his brain. Harvey found nothing unusual with his brain, but in 1999 further analysis by a team at
McMaster University revealed that his parietal
Operculum (brain) operculum region was missing and, to compensate, his inferior
parietal lobe was 15% wider than normal.{{rf|13|news.bbc.co.uk.381}} The inferior parietal region is responsible for mathematical thought, visuospatial cognition, and imagery of movement. Einstein's brain also contained 73% more
glial cells than the average brain.
Personality
Albert Einstein appeared outwardly jovial and animated and was known for his
aphorisms and playful
doggerel, evidenced by the several editions of ''The Quotable Einstein''. He possessed a shaggy-haired visage, a moustache and "a haloe of unruly white hair," in his later years, and was said to have a piercing gaze. He minimized his wardrobe, so he would not waste time on deciding what to wear. Einstein draped himself in mothy sweaters and baggy pants held up by suspenders, and stopped wearing socks, since his big toes poked holes in them. He enjoyed
sailing, playing the
violin, and listening to
Ludwig van Beethoven Beethoven,
Johann Sebastian Bach Bach,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Mozart and
Franz Schubert Schubert. Albert indulged his appetite for heavy German cooking. He would leisurely walk to work with a friend and colleague, whether it was the Bern patent office or the
Institute for Advanced Study (with Michelle Besso and
Kurt Gödel, respectively). The
absent-minded professor had the ability to focus on a problem years on end, and like
Newton faced his "intellectual demons."
Religious views
Einstein's writings on religion are frequently associated with
pantheism, a non-religious spirituality that regards the natural world as definitionally equivalent to God, and
deism, a ''
natural theology natural religion'' that has become identified with the belief that God created the universe but does not intervene in the world. [http://www.deism.org/alberteinstein.htm] Although he was raised
Jewish, he was not a believer in the religious aspect of
Judaism, though he still considered himself an ethnic
Jew.
He also said (in an essay reprinted in ''Living Philosophies'', vol. 13, 1931): ''"A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, our perceptions of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which only in their most primitive forms are accessible to our minds—it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute true religiosity; in this sense, and this [sense] alone, I am a deeply religious man."''
The following is a response made to
Rabbi Herbert Goldstein of the
International Synagogue in
New York City New York which read, ''"I believe in
Baruch Spinoza Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings."'' After being pressed on his religious views by
Martin Buber, Einstein exclaimed, ''"What we [physicists] strive for is just to draw His lines after Him."'' He also quoted once ''"When I read the
Bhagavad Gita, I ask myself how God created the universe. Everything else seems superfluous."'' Summarizing his religious beliefs, he once said: ''"My
religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind."''
Einstein was an Honorary Associate of the
Rationalist Press Association beginning in 1934, and was an admirer of
Ethical Culture.{{rf|14|ethicalculture.1}}
Einstein believed true theorists are skeptical metaphysicists, saying: "I believe that every true theorist is a kind of tamed metaphysicist, no matter how pure a 'positivist' he may fancy himself. The metaphysicist believes that the logically simple is also the real. The tamed metaphysicist believes that not all that is logically simple is embodied in experienced reality, but that the totality of all sensory experience can be 'comprehended' on the basis of a conceptual system built on premises of great simplicity."
He also believed randomness indicates a lack of measurement, saying: "But the scientist is possessed by the sense of universal causation. The future, to him, is every whit as necessary and determined as the past."
See Albert Einstein's "''The World as I See It''", Secaucus, New Jersy, The Citadel Press, 1999, pp. 24-29, http://stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/einstein_religion.html (Note: This book is a collection of writings by Albert Einstein, from around 1932)
Political views
Image:Mikhoels and Einstein 1943.jpg Solomon Mikhoels.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|right|222px|Einstein and [[Solomon Mikhoels, the chairman of the
Soviet Union Soviet Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, in 1943..html" title="Meaning of right|222px|Einstein and [[Solomon Mikhoels">thumb|right|222px|Einstein and [[Solomon Mikhoels, the chairman of the
Soviet Union Soviet Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, in 1943.">right|222px|Einstein and [[Solomon Mikhoels">thumb|right|222px|Einstein and [[Solomon Mikhoels, the chairman of the
Soviet Union Soviet Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, in 1943.
Einstein considered himself a
pacifism pacifist{{rf|15|www.amnh.org.382}} and
Humanitarianism humanitarian,{{rf|16|www.amnh.org.383}} and in later years, a committed democratic
socialism socialist. He once said, ''"I believe
Mahatma Gandhi Gandhi's views were the most enlightened of all the political men of our time. We should strive to do things in his spirit: not to use violence for fighting for our cause, but by non-participation of anything you believe is evil."'' Einstein's views on other issues, including socialism,
McCarthyism and
racism, were controversial. In a 1949 article entitled "Why Socialism?",{{rf.html">capitalism
capitalist_society, as a source of evil to be overcome. He disapproved of the
totalitarian regimes in the
Soviet Union and elsewhere, and argued in favor of a
democratic socialism democratic socialist system which would combine a
planned economy with a deep respect for
human rights. Einstein was a co-founder of the liberal
German Democratic Party and a member of the
AFL-CIO-affiliated union the
American Federation of Teachers.
Einstein was very much involved in the
American Civil Rights Movement Civil Rights movement. He was a close friend of
Paul Robeson for over 20 years. Einstein was a member of several civil rights groups (including the Princeton chapter of the
NAACP) many of which were headed by Paul Robeson. He served as co-chair with
Paul Robeson of the ''American Crusade to End Lynching''. When
W.E.B. DuBois was frivolously charged with being a communist spy during the McCarthy era while he was in his 80s, Einstein volunteered as a character witness in the case. The case was dismissed shortly after it was announced that he was to appear in that capacity. Einstein was quoted as saying that "racism is America's greatest disease".
The U.S.
Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI kept a 1,427 page file on his activities and recommended that he be barred from immigrating to the United States under the
Alien Exclusion Act, alleging that Einstein ''"believes in, advises, advocates, or teaches a doctrine which, in a legal sense, as held by the courts in other cases, 'would allow
anarchy (word) anarchy to stalk in unmolested' and result in 'government in name only'"'', among other charges. They also alleged that Einstein ''"was a member, sponsor, or affiliated with thirty-four
communism communist fronts between 1937-1954"'' and ''"also served as honorary chairman for three communist organizations"''.{{rf|18|foia.fbi.gov.384}} It should be noted that many of the documents in the file were submitted to the FBI, mainly by civilian political groups, and not actually written by FBI officials.
Image:EinsteinSzilard.jpg Leó Szilárd.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|left|222px|In 1939, Einstein signed a letter, written by [[Leó Szilárd, to
Franklin D. Roosevelt President Roosevelt arguing that the United States should start funding research into the development of
nuclear weapons..html" title="Meaning of left|222px|In 1939, Einstein signed a letter, written by [[Leó Szilárd">thumb|left|222px|In 1939, Einstein signed a letter, written by [[Leó Szilárd, to
Franklin D. Roosevelt President Roosevelt arguing that the United States should start funding research into the development of
nuclear weapons.">left|222px|In 1939, Einstein signed a letter, written by [[Leó Szilárd">thumb|left|222px|In 1939, Einstein signed a letter, written by [[Leó Szilárd, to
Franklin D. Roosevelt President Roosevelt arguing that the United States should start funding research into the development of
nuclear weapons.
Einstein opposed tyrannical forms of government, and for this reason (and his Jewish background), opposed the Nazi regime and fled Germany shortly after it came to power. At the same time, Einstein's
libertarian socialism anarchist nephew
Carl Einstein, who shared many of his views, was fighting the fascists in the
Spanish Civil War. Einstein initially favored construction of the
atomic bomb, in order to ensure that
Adolf Hitler Hitler did not do so first, and even sent a letter{{rf|18|hypertextbook.com.385}} to President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Roosevelt (dated
August 2,
1939, before
World War II broke out, and probably written by
Leó Szilárd) encouraging him to initiate a program to create a nuclear weapon. Roosevelt responded to this by setting up a committee for the investigation of using
uranium as a weapon, which in a few years was superseded by the
Manhattan Project.
After the war, though, Einstein lobbied for
nuclear disarmament and a
world government: "I do not know how the Third World War will be fought, but I can tell you what they will use in the Fourth—rocks!"{{rf|20|calaprice173}}
Einstein was a supporter of
Zionism. He supported Jewish settlement in
Israel and was active in the establishment of the
Hebrew University in
Jerusalem, which published (1930) a volume titled ''About Zionism: Speeches and Lectures by Professor Albert Einstein'', and to which Einstein bequeathed his papers. However, he opposed nationalism and expressed skepticism about whether a Jewish nation-state was the best solution. In later life, in 1952, he was offered the post of second president of the newly created state of
Israel, but declined the offer, claiming that he lacked the necessary people skills. Einstein was disturbed by the violence taking place in Israel after the Second World War and expressed that he was disappointed with the Jewish Ultra-Nationalist Organization (
Irgun and the
Lehi (group) Stern Gang). Nonetheless, Einstein remained deeply committed to the welfare of the Jewish state and the Jewish people for the rest of his life.
Einstein, along with
Albert Schweitzer and
Bertrand Russell, fought against nuclear tests and bombs. As his last public act, and just days before his death, he signed the
Russell-Einstein Manifesto, which led to the
Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. His letter to Russell read:
:''Dear Bertrand Russell,''
::''Thank you for your letter of April 5. I am gladly willing to sign your excellent statement. I also agree with your choice of the prospective signers.''
:''With kind regards, A. Einstein''
Citizenship
Einstein was born a
Germany German citizen. At the age of seventeen, on
January 28,
1896, he was released from his German citizenship by his own request and with the approval of his father. He remained
stateless person stateless for five years. On
February 21,
1901 he gained
Switzerland Swiss citizenship, which he never revoked. Einstein regained German citizenship in
1914#January-April April 1914 when he entered the German civil service, but due to the political situation and the persecution of Jewish people in
Nazi Germany, he left civil service in
1933#March March 1933 and thus also lost the German citizenship. On
1940#September-October October 1, 1940, Einstein became an
United States citizen American citizen. He remained both an American and a Swiss citizen until his death on
1955#April April 18, 1955.
Popularity and cultural impact
Einstein's popularity has led to widespread use of Einstein in
advertising and
merchandising, including the registration of "Albert Einstein" as a
trademark.
Image:Einstongue.jpg birthday.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|right|222px|The photo (detail from the original) of this humorous expression was taken during Einstein's [[birthday on
March 14,
1951,
United Press International UPI..html" title="Meaning of right|222px|The photo (detail from the original) of this humorous expression was taken during Einstein's [[birthday">thumb|right|222px|The photo (detail from the original) of this humorous expression was taken during Einstein's [[birthday on
March 14,
1951,
United Press International UPI.">right|222px|The photo (detail from the original) of this humorous expression was taken during Einstein's [[birthday">thumb|right|222px|The photo (detail from the original) of this humorous expression was taken during Einstein's [[birthday on
March 14,
1951,
United Press International UPI.
Entertainment
Albert Einstein has become the subject of a number of novels,
films and plays, including
Jean-Claude Carrier's 2005 French novel, Einstein S'il Vous Plait (Please Mr Einstein),
Nicolas Roeg's film ''
Insignificance (film) Insignificance'',
Fred Schepisi's film ''
I.Q. (film) I.Q.'',
Alan Lightman's novel ''Einstein's Dreams'', and
Steve Martin's comedic play "
Picasso at the Lapin Agile". He was the subject of
Philip Glass's groundbreaking 1976
opera ''
Einstein on the Beach''. His humorous side is also the subject of
Ed Metzger's one-man play ''
Albert Einstein: The Practical Bohemian''.
He is often used as a model for depictions of
mad scientists in works of fiction; his own character and distinctive hairstyle suggest eccentricity, or even lunacy and are widely copied or exaggerated.
Time (magazine) TIME magazine writer Frederic Golden referred to Einstein as "a cartoonist's dream come true."
On Einstein's 72nd birthday in 1951, the
UPI photographer Arthur Sasse was trying to coax him into smiling for the camera. Having done this for the photographer many times that day, Einstein stuck out his tongue instead.{{rf|21|www.mentalfloss.com.386}} The image has become an icon in pop culture for its contrast of the genius scientist displaying a moment of levity.
Yahoo Serious, an Australian film maker, used the photo as an inspiration for the intentionally anachronistic movie ''
Young Einstein''.
Licensing
Einstein bequeathed his estate, as well as the use of his image (see
personality rights), to the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem.{{rf.html">royalties received from licensing activities.
The Roger Richman Agency licences the commercial use of the name "Albert Einstein" and associated imagery and likenesses of Einstein, as
agent_(law) agent.html" title="Meaning of aip.org.387}} Einstein actively supported the university during his life and this support continues with the agent">agent for the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem. As head licensee the agency can control commercial usage of Einstein's name which does not comply with certain standards (e.g., when Einstein's name is used as a
trademark, the ™ symbol must be used).{{rf|23|refbot.388}} As of May, 2005, the Roger Richman Agency was acquired by
Corbis.
Honors
Image:Einstein TIME Person of the Century.jpg thumb|right|159px|Einstein on the cover of ''TIME'' as Person of the Century.
Einstein has received a number of posthumous honors. For example:
*In 1992, he was ranked #10 on
Michael H. Hart's
The 100 list of the most influential figures in history.
*In 1999, he was named ''Person of the Century'' by
Time (magazine) TIME magazine.
*Also in 1999,
Gallup recorded him as the fourth most
Gallup's List of Widely Admired People admired person of the 20th century.
*The year 2005 was designated as the "
World Year of Physics" by
UNESCO for its coinciding with the centennial of the "
Annus Mirabilis Papers Annus Mirabilis" papers, celebrated at the
Einstein Symposium.
Among Einstein's many namesakes are:
*a unit used in
photochemistry, the ''
einstein (unit) einstein''.
*the
chemical element 99,
einsteinium.
*the
asteroid 2001 Einstein.
*the
Albert Einstein Peace Prize.
*the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University{{rf|24|refbot.389}} was named after Einstein upon his death in 1955.
*the Albert Einstein Medical Center{{rf|25|www.einstein.edu.390}} in
Philadelphia, PA.
Works by Albert Einstein
Image:A clay portrait of Einstein by the sculptor Moshe Ziffer.jpg Moshe Ziffer.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|right|155px|Clay portrait of Einstein by the sculptor [[Moshe Ziffer..html" title="Meaning of right|155px|Clay portrait of Einstein by the sculptor [[Moshe Ziffer">thumb|right|155px|Clay portrait of Einstein by the sculptor [[Moshe Ziffer.">right|155px|Clay portrait of Einstein by the sculptor [[Moshe Ziffer">thumb|right|155px|Clay portrait of Einstein by the sculptor [[Moshe Ziffer.
*''[http://www.worldscibooks.com/phy_etextbook/4454/4454_chap1.pdf The Investigation of the State of Aether in Magnetic Fields]''. (PDF)
*''Ideas & Opinions'' ISBN 0517003937
*''The World As I See It'' ISBN 080650711X (translation of "Mein Weltbild")
*''
wikisource:Relativity: The Special and General Theory Relativity: The Special and General Theory.'' ISBN 0517884410 ([http://www.gutenberg.net/browse/BIBREC/BR5001.HTM Project Gutenberg E-text])
* "[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/www/ On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies]" ''
Annalen der Physik.''
June 30,
1905
* "[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/E_mc2/www/ Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?]" ''
Annalen der Physik.''
September 27, 1905.
* "[http://alberteinstein.info/gallery/pdf/CP6Doc3_English_pp16-18.pdf Inaugural Lecture to the Prussian Academy of Sciences]." 1914. [PDF]
* "[http://hem.bredband.net/b153434/Works/Einstein.htm The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity ]." ''
Annalen der Physik,'' 49. 1916.
* "
wikisource:Nobel_Lecture_Physics_1921 Fundamental ideas and problems of the theory of relativity." ''1921 Nobel Lecture in Physics.'' Nordic Assembly of Naturalists at Gothenburg,
11 July 1923.
* Einstein A., Lorenz H. A., Weyl H. and Minkowski H. ''The Principle of Relativity.'' Trans. W. Perrett and
George Barker Jeffery G. B. Jeffery. New York: Dover Publications, 1923.
* "[http://www.monthlyreview.org/598einst.htm Why Socialism?]" ''
Monthly Review.'' May 1949 ([http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/einstein/global/popups/socialism.php original manuscript]).
* ''[http://www.alberteinstein.info/db/ViewImage.do?DocumentID=34170&Page=1 On the Generalized Theory of Gravitation]''. April, 1950.
* {{cite book | last = Einstein | first = Albert | coauthors =
Leopold Infeld | year = 1938 | title = The Evolution of Physics | id = ISBN 0671201565}}
Notes
{{ent|1|brain}} [http://www.bioquant.com/gallery/einstein.html The Exceptional Brain of Albert Einstein].
{{ent|2|autism}} {{cite news|author=Muir, Hazel|title=Einstein and Newton showed signs of autism|publisher=New Scientist|url=http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn3676|date=2003-04-30|accessdate=2006-01-04}} See also
People speculated to have been autistic.
{{ent|3|Highfield1}} Highfield.
{{ent|4|Highfield2}} Ibid.
{{ent|5|www.ipi.ch.376}} {{cite web | title=The institute / IPI / Federal Institute of Intellectual Property | url=http://www.ipi.ch/E/institut/i1.shtm | accessdate=November 21 | accessyear=2005 }}
{{ent|6|Galison368}} Galison p. 368.
{{ent|7|physicsweb.org.377}} {{cite web | title=Arguing about Einstein's wife (April 2004) - Physics World - PhysicsWeb (See above) | url=http://physicsweb.org/articles/world/17/4/2 | accessdate=November 21 | accessyear=2005 }}
{{ent|8|Galison370}} Galison p. 370.
{{ent|9|smoluchowski}}
Smoluchowski worked on Brownian motion at the same time as Einstein. He published in 1906 the same formula as Einstein (arrived at by a different method), except for a mistaken factor. See {{cite web | title=Paul Langevin’s 1908 paper ‘‘On the Theory of Brownian Motion’’ | url=http://www.physik.uni-augsburg.de/theo1/hanggi/History/Langevin1908.pdf | accessdate=March 17 | accessyear=2006 }} for details.
{{ent|10|Thorne}}
David Hilbert actually published the field equation in an article dated five days before Einstein's lecture. But according to Thorne (pp. 117–118), Hilbert had discovered the correct derivation after "mulling over things he had learned" on a recent visit by Einstein to Gottingen. However Thorne goes on to say "Quite naturally, and in accord with Hilbert's view of things, the resulting law of warpage was quickly given the name the ''Einstein field equation'' rather than being named after Hilbert. Hilbert had carried out the last few mathematical steps to its discovery independently and almost simultaneously with Einstein, but Einstein was responsible for essentially everything that preceded those steps: the recognition that tidal gravity must be the same thing as a warpage of spacetime, the vision that the law of warpage must obey the relativity principle, and the first 90 percent of that law, the Einstein field equation. In fact without Einstein the general relativistic laws of gravity might not have been discovered until several decades later." See
Priority disputes about Einstein and the relativity theories for more details.
{{ent|11|www.lorentz.leidenuniv.nl.378}} {{cite web | title=Einstein archive at the Instituut-Lorentz | url=http://www.lorentz.leidenuniv.nl/history/Einstein_archive/ | accessdate=November 21 | accessyear=2005 }}
{{ent|12|gtalumni.org.379}} {{cite web | title=Einstein's Refrigerator | url=http://gtalumni.org/StayInformed/magazine/sum98/einsrefr.html | accessdate=November 21 | accessyear=2005 }}
{{ent|13|news.bbc.co.uk.381}} {{cite web | title=BBC News : Sci/Tech : Why size mattered for Einstein | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/371698.stm | accessdate=November 21 | accessyear=2005 }}
{{ent|14|ethicalculture.1}} {{cite web | title=The Humanist Way: An Introduction to Ethical Humanist Religion | url=http://www.aeu.org/ericson2.html | accessdate=February 25 | accessyear=2006 }}
{{ent|15|www.amnh.org.382}} {{cite web | title=Einstein : American Museum of Natural History | url=http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/einstein/peace/index.php | accessdate=November 21 | accessyear=2005 }}
{{ent|16|www.amnh.org.383}} Ibid.
{{ent|17|socialism}} {{cite news|title=Why Socialism?|first=Albert|last=Einstein|publisher=Monthly Review|date=May 1949|url=http://www.monthlyreview.org/598einst.htm|accessdate=2006-01-16}}
{{ent|18|foia.fbi.gov.384}} {{cite web | title=Federal Bureau of Investigation - Freedom of Information Privacy Act | url=http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/einstein.htm | accessdate=November 21 | accessyear=2005 }}
{{ent|19|hypertextbook.com.385}} {{cite web | title=Einstein's Letters to Roosevelt | url=http://hypertextbook.com/eworld/einstein.shtml | accessdate=November 21 | accessyear=2005 }}
{{ent|20|calaprice173}} Calaprice p. 173. Other versions of the quote exist.
{{ent|21|www.mentalfloss.com.386}} {{cite web | title=mental_floss library | url=http://www.mentalfloss.com/archives/archive2003-03-14.htm | accessdate=November 21 | accessyear=2005 }}
{{ent|22|aip.org.387}} {{cite web | title=http://aip.org/history/esva/einuse.htm | url=http://aip.org/history/esva/einuse.htm | accessdate=November 21 | accessyear=2005 }}
{{ent|23|refbot.388}} {{cite web | title=ALBRT EINSTEIN BRAND LOGO | url=http://www.albert-einstein.net/styleguide-readonly/brand.html | accessdate=November 21 | accessyear=2005 }}
{{ent|24|refbot.389}} {{cite web | title= Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University | url=http://www.aecom.yu.edu | accessdate=November 21 | accessyear=2005 }}
{{ent|25|www.einstein.edu.390}} {{cite web | title= Albert Einstein Medical Center | url=http://www.einstein.edu/facilities/aemc/ | accessdate=November 21 | accessyear=2005 }}
References
* {{cite book | author =
Edmund Blair Bolles Bolles, Edmund Blair | year = 2004 | month = April | title = Einstein Defiant: Genius versus Genius in the Quantum Revolution | publisher = National Academy Press | id = ISBN 0309089980 }}
* {{cite web | author = Butcher, Sandra Ionno | date = March 2005 | url = http://www.pugwash.org/publication/phs/phslist.htm | title = The Origins of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto }}
* {{cite book | first = Alice | last = Calaprice | title = The new quotable Einstein | pages = p. 173 | publisher = Princeton University Press | year = 2005 | id = ISBN 0-691-12075-7 }}
* {{cite book | author =
Ronald W. Clark Clark, Ronald W. | year = 1971 | title = Einstein: The Life and Times | publisher = Avon | id = ISBN 0-380-44123-3 }}
* {{cite journal | author = Galison, Peter | authorlink = Peter Galison | title = Einstein's Clocks: The Question of Time | journal = Critical Inquiry | year = Winter 2000 | volume = 26 | issue = 2 | pages = 355–389 }}
IMAGE:Einstein Memorial.jpg Albert Einstein Memorial, Washington DC.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|right|215px|The [[Albert Einstein Memorial, Washington DC at the
National Academy of Sciences in
Washington, DC..html" title="Meaning of right|215px|The [[Albert Einstein Memorial, Washington DC">thumb|right|215px|The [[Albert Einstein Memorial, Washington DC at the
National Academy of Sciences in
Washington, DC.">right|215px|The [[Albert Einstein Memorial, Washington DC">thumb|right|215px|The [[Albert Einstein Memorial, Washington DC at the
National Academy of Sciences in
Washington, DC.
* {{cite book | author = Highfield, Roger; Carter, Paul | title = The Private Lives of Albert Einstein | publisher = Faber and Faber, London, Boston | year = 1993 | id = ISBN 0-571-17170-2 (US ed. ISBN 0312110472) }}
* {{cite web | author = Martínez, Alberto A. | year = April 2004 | url = http://physicsweb.org/articles/world/17/4/2 | title = Arguing about Einstein's wife | publisher = Physics World | accessdate = 2005-11-23 }}
* {{cite book | author =
Abraham Pais Pais, Abraham | year = 1982 | title = Subtle is the Lord. The Science and the Life of Albert Einstein | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = Oxford | id = ISBN 0-19-520438-7 }} This is the definitive scientific biography.
* {{cite book | author =
Abraham Pais Pais, Abraham | year = 1994 | title = Einstein Lived Here | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = Oxford | id = ISBN 0198539940 }} This book discusses non-science aspects of Einstein; marriages, affairs, illegitimate daughter, public image.
* {{cite book | author =
Clifford A. Pickover Pickover, Clifford A. | date =
2005-09-09 | title = Sex, Drugs, Einstein, and Elves: Sushi, Psychedelics, Parallel Universes, and the Quest for Transcendence | publisher = Smart Publications | id = ISBN 1890572179 }} Discusses the final disposition of Einstein's brain, hair, and eyes as well as the importance of Einstein and his work in the shaping of science and culture.
* {{cite book | author =
John Stachel Stachel, John | date = 1998-03-30 | title = Einstein's Miraculous Year: Five Papers That Changed the Face of Physics | publisher = Princeton University Press | id = ISBN 0691059381 }}
* {{cite book | author =
Peter D. Smith Smith, Peter D. | year = 2000 | title = Einstein (Life & Times Series) | publisher = Haus Publishing | id = ISBN 1904341152 }}
*{{cite book | author =
Fritz Stern Stern, Fritz | year = 1999| title = ''Einstein's German World'' | publisher = Princeton, N.J, Princeton University Press, | id = ISBN 069105939X}}
* {{cite book | authorlink = Kip Thorne | last = Thorne | first = Kip | year = 1995 | title =
Black Holes and Time Warps Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy | publisher = W. W. Norton & Company | edition = Reprint edition | date =
January 1 1995 | id = ISBN 0393312763 }}
* {{cite web | author = Levenson, Thomas | year = June 2005 | url = http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/genius/ | title = Genius Among Geniuses | accessdate = 2006-02-25 }}
* {{cite web | author = Golden, Frederic | year = 2000-01-03 | url = http://www.time.com/time/time100/poc/magazine/albert_einstein5a.html | title = Person of the Century: Albert Einstein | accessdate = 2006-02-25 }}
* {{cite web | author = American Institute of Physics | year = 1996 | url = http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/index.html | title = Einstein-Image and Impact | accessdate = 2006-02-25 }}
* {{cite web | author = Bodanis, David | year = June 2005 | url = http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/bodanis.html | title = Einstein the Nobody | accessdate = 2006-02-25 }}
* {{cite web | author = Holt, Jim | year = February 2005 | url = http://www.newyorker.com/critics/atlarge/?050228crat_atlarge | title = Time Bandits | accessdate = 2006-03-18 }}
*{{cite video | People= Dan Levitt (Producer) | ReleaseYear=2003 | Title=Brilliant Minds: Secrets of the Cosmos | Medium=TV-Series | DistributorsLocation=Boston | DistributorsName=Veriscope Pictures}}
See also
*
Special relativity
*
General relativity
*
History of special relativity
*
History of general relativity
*
Henri Poincaré
*
David Hilbert
*
Priority disputes about Einstein and the relativity theories
*
EPR paradox
External links
{{wikiquote|Albert Einstein}}
{{commons|Albert Einstein}}
{{sisterlinks|Albert Einstein}}
* {{gutenberg author| id=Albert+Einstein | name=Albert Einstein}}
*
Nobel Prize in Physics: [http://www.nobel.se/physics/laureates/1921/press.html The Nobel Prize in Physics 1921]—[http://www.nobel.se/physics/laureates/1921/index.html Albert Einstein]
*
Annalen der Physik: [http://gallica.bnf.fr/Catalogue/noticesInd/FRBNF34462944.htm#listeUC Works by Einstein] digitalized at The University of Applied Sciences in Jena (Fachhochschule
Jena)
* S. Morgan Friedman, "[http://www.westegg.com/einstein/ Albert Einstein Online]"—Comprehensive listing of online resources about Einstein.
*
American Institute of Physics: [http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/index.html Albert Einstein] includes his life and work, audio files and full site available as a downloadable PDF for classroom use
*
TIME magazine 100: [http://www.time.com/time/time100/scientist/profile/einstein.html Albert Einstein]
-
Albert Einstein Quotes - Hundreds of famous Albert Einstein quotes
* ''Audio excerpts of famous speeches: '' [http://www.time.com/time/time100/poc/audio/einstein1.ram E=mc² and relativity], [http://www.time.com/time/time100/poc/audio/einstein2.ram Impossibility of atomic energy], [http://www.time.com/time/time100/poc/audio/einstein3.ram arms race] (From Time magazine archives)
* {{MacTutor Biography|id=Einstein}}
*
Leiden University: [http://www.lorentz.leidenuniv.nl/history/Einstein_archive/ Einstein Archive]
* PBS [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/ NOVA—Einstein]
* PBS [http://www.pbs.org/opb/einsteinswife/ Einstein's wife]: Mileva Maric
*
FBI: [http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/einstein.htm FBI files]—investigation regarding affiliation with the Communist Party
*
Johann Wolfgang Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main University of Frankfurt: [http://www.th.physik.uni-frankfurt.de/~jr/physpiceinfam.html Einstein family pictures]
*
Salon.com: [http://dir.salon.com/people/feature/2000/07/06/einstein/index.html Did Einstein cheat?]
-
Official Einstein Archives Online
*
Einstein@Home: [http://www.EinsteinAtHome.org A public
distributed computing project to search for the gravitational waves predicted by Einstein's Theory of General Relativity]
{{featured article}}
{{Persondata
|NAME=Einstein, Albert
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Physicist
|DATE OF BIRTH=
March 14,
1879
|PLACE OF BIRTH=
Ulm,
Baden-Württemberg,
German Empire
|DATE OF DEATH=
April 18,
1955
|PLACE OF DEATH=
Princeton, New Jersey Princeton,
New Jersey
}}
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