Albert Einstein Biography
by Krysta Cardinale“The Theory of Relativity”
Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879 in Wurttemberg, Germany. He is often considered the greatest scientist of the 20th century and one of the best physicists ever. Albert Einstein’s biography consists of the special and general theories of relativity, contributions to quantum and statistical mechanics and cosmology, and winning the 1921 Nobel Prize for Physics for his explanation of the photoelectric effect, and for his work on “Theoretical Physics.”
Six weeks after Albert Einstein was born his family moved to Munich, Germany. Later they moved to Italy, and Albert continued his education at Aarau, Switzerland. In 1896, he joined the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich. Here he wanted to be trained as a teacher in both mathematics and physics. By 1901, Einstein gained his diploma and also Swiss citizenship. However, he was unable to find a teaching position so he accepted a job as a technical assistant in the Swiss Patent Office. By 1905, Albert had gained his doctor’s degree.
While Einstein worked at his position at the Swiss Paten Office, he produced much of his famous works. In 1909 he became a Professor at Zurich. Two years later, he was the Professor of Theoretical Physics at Prague. The next year, Albert returned to Zurich and in 1914 he was appointed the Director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Physical Institute and Professor in Berlin. He stayed here until 1933 when he renounced his citizenship. Einstein did this due to his own political reasons and immigrated to the United States.
In the United States, Albert Einstein accepted the offer of Professor of Theoretical Physics at Princeton. He became a U.S. citizen in 1940, and retired from his job five years later. In 1948, Albert served on a committee that founded Brandeis University. Four years later, the government of Israel offered Einstein the position of second president, which he declined. It is believed that he is the only U.S. citizen to have been offered a post as a foreign head of state.
Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955 at 1:15 in the morning at Princeton Hospital in New Jersey. He was 76 years old and died from internal bleeding due to a ruptured aortic aneurism. According to his wishes, Albert was cremated the very same day of his death without a ceremony and his ashes were dispersed at an undisclosed location.
The General and Special Theory of Relativity
The Special Theory of Relativity was published in 1905, and demonstrated Newton’s first three laws of motion were only somewhat correct; that these laws fell apart when velocities approached that of light. The General Theory of Relativity was published in 1915. This discussed Newton’s Law of Gravitation, and stated that this was also only approximately correct. Einstein displayed that this law broke down in the presence of strong gravitational fields.
On September 26th, 1905, Albert Einstein’s famous special Theory of Relativity was published in the German scientific journal, Annalen der Physik. The theory’s earth shaking ramifications are still being felt today. Physicists had known for sometime that their understanding of the laws of physics was incomplete. But when the Theory of Relativity was first published, it was an absolute revolution in thought. In fact, it was for a while, a controversial topic among physicists many of whom refused to believe in the outrageous predictions of his theory. The predictions of Albert Einstein’s theories are astounding even today. They state that time and space are not completely separate but are instead closely interrelated. This led to the realization that mass and gravity bend space and time, so that two people can actually experience time differently.
For example, imagine an astronaut could travel through space at near the speed of light. For the astronaut as for everyone back on earth, time will seem to pass normally. But if the astronaut returns after two years, time on earth may have advanced as much as 200 years. But perhaps the most famous aspect of the Theory of Relativity is the seemingly simple formula E = MC2, which states that energy equals mass multiplied by the speed of light squared. Einstein had unlocked the power of the atom and his predictions would be proved true when the first atomic bomb exploded in the New Mexico Desert in 1945.
In the general theory by Einstein, Albert discussed how the presence of matter “curves” space-time. This “curve” than effects the path of the free particles, and even the path of light. Einstein based this on the principle of relativity, and that all observers need to experience the same laws of physics, not only those moving at the same speed.
After the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Einstein lamented that the world was not yet ready for atomic energy. Einstein was known as much for his charm and wit as for his brilliant thinking. And when asked for a simple explanation of the Theory of Relativity, he once said, when a man sits with a pretty girl for an hour, it seems to be only a minute. But let him sit on a hot stove for only a minute and it seems longer than an hour. That’s relativity.
Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity caused major revolutions in physics and astronomy and changed the way we view our world. He was not only one of the most brilliant scientists of our century; he was one of the greatest thinkers of all time.
