Astronomy Research Project

1. Astronomy Research Project By: Sara Rubin

2. Albert Einstein

3. Birth and Death • Born March 14, 1879 • Died in Princeton Hospital on April 18, 1955

4. 1905 Brownian Motion/Movement • Does every motion follow a pattern? • NO • Brownian movement is totally random and follows no pattern what so ever. • It was observed ion 1827 for the first time by Robert Brown but Einstein made “the first satisfactory theoretical treatment” of this motion.

5. 1905 The Photoelectric Effect • Einstein stated that under some circumstances light consists of many particles. Also, he said that the energy carried by the light particle (called photons) is proportional to the frequency of radiation. He proposed that the energy contained within the light beam is transferred in individual units called quanta. This helped develop the quantum theory.

6. 1905 Special Theory of Relativity • Einstein used two postulates to base this theory: the principle of relativity, “that physical laws are the same in all inertial reference systems”, and the principle of the invariance of the speed of light, “that the speed of light in a vacuum is a universal constant for all observers regardless of the motion of the observer or of the source of the light.” He was able to give consistent and correct descriptions of “physical events in different inertial frames of reference without making assumptions.” • http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/time/think.html

7. What?? • In simpler terms, everything is relevant to something else. For example, time seems to move really slowly when you are doing something boring, yet it seems as if it flies when you are in the midst of an exciting activity.

8. Why is the sky blue?

9. Answer • As light moves through the atmosphere, most of the longer wavelengths pass straight through. Little of the red, orange and yellow light is affected by the air. • However, much of the shorter wavelength light is absorbed by the gas molecules. The absorbed blue light is then radiated in different directions and is placed all over the sky. Every direction you look, some of this scattered blue light reaches you. Since you see the blue light from everywhere above your head, the sky looks blue.

10. 1916 General Theory of Relativity • Einstein broadened the special theory of relativity into the general theory of relativity that applies to objects in accelerated motion as well as in “uniform” motion. • It primarily deals with the “large-scale” effects of gravitation. • The theory cites the equivalence of gravitational and inertial mass. It states that “space becomes curved by the vicinity of matter”- the meaning of gravity. (The greater the mass, the greater the gravity.) The geometry of a given area of space and the motion of the region can be predicted from the equations of this theory.

11. E=mc2

12. c is the speed of light m is the mass E is the energy SO… In English, Energy is equal to the mass multiplied by the speed of light squared!!

13. Did you Know? • This formula was the “theoretical background” of the atomic bomb! It stated that you could use a small amount of matter to create a lot of powerful energy!

14. Nobel Prize • Einstein won the Nobel Prize in 1921 in Physics for the photoelectric effect

15. Bibliography • Bankston, John. Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity. Bear, Delaware: Mitchell Lane, Inc., 2003. • Steve, Parker. Isaac Newton and Gravity. New York and Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 1995. • Pirotta, Saviour. Albert Einstein. Austin, New York: Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 2002. ]

16. Bibliography (cont’d) • Spaulding, Nancy E., and Samuel N. Namowitz. Earth Science. Evanston Illinios, Boston, Dallas: McDougal Littell, 1994. 406-407. • Rubin, Julian. "What Did Albert Einstein Invent?" Sept. 2005. 22 May 2006 <http://www.juliantrubin.com/einsteininvent.html>. • Groleau, Rick. "Think Like Einstein." Nova Online. Nov. 2000. PBS. 22 May 2006 <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/time/think.html>.