Albert Einstein 1879-1955 By Alyssa Evans, Chemistry Outreach, Spring 2001 “If we knew what it was we were doing, it wou

1. Albert Einstein 1879-1955 By Alyssa Evans, Chemistry Outreach, Spring 2001 “If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?” Life of Albert Einstein 1879: March 14, Albert Einstein is born to Hermann and Pauline Einstein in Ulm, Germany 1885: Albert begins taking violin lessons 1896: Albert graduated from high school and enrolls at the Federal Polytechnic (ETH) in Zurich. 1898: Einstein falls in love with Mileva Maric, a Hungarian classmate at the ETH 1900: Albert graduates from the ETH 1901: Einstein becomes a Swiss citizen and Mileva becomes pregnant 1902: Mileva gives birth to a daughter Lieserl, she is put up for adoption and all records of her disappear. Albert takes a job at the Swiss Patent Office 1903: Albert and Mileva marry 1904: Mileva gives birth to a son, Hans Albert, who eventually becomes a professor of hydraulics at the University of CA, Berkeley 1905: Einstein’s “Miracle Year”. Einstein publishes five papers which would change the view of science 1910: Son Eduard is born, although he excelled in music and literature he would die in a Swiss psychiatric hospital 1911: Albert is the youngest to attend the invitation-only Solvay Conference in Brussels, the first world physics conference 1914: Mileva and Albert divorce 1915: Einstein completes the General Theory of Relativity 1919: Albert marries his cousin, Elsa 1922: Albert is awarded the Nobel Prize of 1921 in Chemistry for his work on the Photoelectric effect 1927: Attends the fifth Solvay Conference and begins developing the foundation of quantum mechanics with Bohr 1933: Albert, identified as a Jew, leaves Germany and with his wife Elsa come to the US. He assumes a post at Princeton, New Jersey 1936: Elsa dies after a brief illness Major contributions to the Sciences In one year, Einstein published five research papers. These publications would change mankind’s view of the universe forever In March, Einstein used Max Planck’s quantum theory of light to explain the photoelectric effect. He proposed that light is composed of individual packets of energy, known as photons. These photons have properties of both waves and particles Figure: The photoelectric effect. When photons of high energy strike a metal surface, electrons are emitted from the metal (a).The emitted electrons are drawn toward the positive terminal. The result: current will flow through the circuit (b). Source: Brown, T.L., LeMay, H.E., Bursten,B.E, Chemistry: The CentralScience, Seventh Edition. (Prentice Hall: NJ 1997) 187. April and May brings about the publication of two papers. In one, Einstein discusses a new method of counting and determining the size of atoms or molecules in a given space. In the other, he explains the phenomenon of Brownian motion. The result of these papers is proof that atoms actually exist June, Einstein publishes what is known today as the special theory ofrelativity. In it, he shows that time and motion are relative to the observer. If the speed is constant, the natural laws are the same everywhere in the universe The last paper was a mathematical addition to the special theory of relativity. Here Einstein presents the formula E=mc2. This formula proved that a small particle of matter is the equivalent to an enormous quantity of energy. Ten years later Einstein published his general theory of relativity. In it, he proposes that gravity is not a force, but a curved field that is created by the presence of mass. 1939: WWII begins. Einstein writes a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt warning of the possibility of Germany building an atomic bomb and urging nuclear research 1940: Einstein becomes an American citizen 1952: Einstein was offered the position of president of the state of Israel. He turned it down 1955: A week before his death, Einstein signs a letter agreeing that his name should go on a letter urging all nations to give up nuclear weapons – his last act for international peace. On April 18, Albert Einstein dies of heart failure. Beside his bed lay the pages of an unfinished calculation on the unified field theory. Solvay Conference of 1927 Einstein’s colleagues – How many names do you recognize? Front row, left to right: I. Langmuir, M. Planck, M. Curie, H.A. Lorentz, A. Einstein, P. Langevin, C.E. Guye, C.T.R. Wilson, O.W. Richardson. Second row: P.Debye, M. Knudsen, W.L. Bragg, H.A. Kramers, P.A.M. Dirac, A.H. Compton, L.V. deBroglie, M.Born, N. Bohr. Standing: A. Piccard, E. Henriot, P. Ehrenfest, E. Herzen, T. De Donder, E. Schroedinger, E. Verschaffelt,W. Pauli, W. Heisenberg, R.H. Fowler, L. Brillouin References: Brian, Denis. Einstein: A Life (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.: NY, 1996) Levenson, Thomas. “How smart was he?” 1996.www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/genius/index.html. (1/30/01) “Time Line of Einstein’s Life” www.humboldt1.com/~gralsto/einstein/timeline.html. (1/23/01)