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Albert Einstein And Annus Mirabilis: 100 Years Later
by Dean Reese
Originally posted to BNN 3/14/2005
The year 2005 marks the century anniversary of Einstein's annus mirabilis of 1905 and the 50th anniversary of his death in 1955. On the anniversary of his birth, let me reviewt on his genius.
On March 14, 1879, Albert Einstein is born. Over the course of his research, the theories that Einstein proposed have changed the view of the universe and made possible quantum physics and the nuclear bomb. After being awarded his Ph.D. in 1905, Einstein, published a series of 5 ground breaking papers:
A Heuristic Viewpoint Concerning the Production and Transformation of Light. Einstein theorized that light is made up of individual quanta (photons) that demonstrate particle-like properties while collectively behaving like a wave. This work would later earn him the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics.
In the second paper, he devised a new method of counting and determining the size of the atoms and molecules in a given space. In the third he offered a mathematical explanation for the constant erratic movement of particles suspended in a fluid, known as Brownian motion. The second and third paper provided clear evidence of atoms.
The forth paper, the special theory of relativity. In special relativity, time and space are not absolute, but relative to the motion of the observer. Thus, two observers traveling at great speeds in regard to each other would not necessarily observe simultaneous events in time at the same moment, nor necessarily agree in their measurements of space. In Einstein's theory, the speed of light, which is the limiting speed of any body having mass, is constant in all frames of reference.
The fifth paper is one most people are familiar. In an exploration of the mathematics of special relativity, Einstein announced that mass and energy were equivalent and could be calculated with an equation, E=mc2.
Later in 1916, he published "The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity." According to Einstein, gravitation is not a force, but a curved field in the space-time continuum, created by the presence of mass. An object of very large gravitational mass, such as the sun, would appear to warp space and time around it, which could be demonstrated by observing starlight as it skirted the sun on its way to earth.
In 1919, astronomers studying a solar eclipse verified predictions Einstein made in the general theory of relativity. Later, other predictions of general relativity, such as a shift in the orbit of the planet Mercury and the probable existence of black holes, were confirmed by scientists.
Later in life, he became increasingly political, speaking out against militarism and rearmament. With his beliefs being quite unpopular in Nazi Germany, he left the country and settled in the United States, where he accepted a post at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He became an American citizen in 1940.
In 1939, despite his antiwar beliefs, he agreed to write to President Franklin D. Roosevelt on behalf of a group of scientists who were concerned with American in atomic-weapons research. Like the other scientists, he feared sole German possession of such a weapon. He played no role, in the subsequent Manhattan Project and later deplored the use of atomic bombs against Japan.
True to his socialist roots, after the war, he called for the establishment of a world government that would control nuclear technology and prevent future armed conflict. Albert Einstein, one of the most creative minds in human history, died in Princeton in 1955.
The miracle year saw the publication of revolutionary papers on the light quantum hypothesis, Brownian motion and special relativity, including the introduction of his famous formula E=mc2. Despite his political beliefs, his scientific genuis should be appreciated by everyone.
Footnote:
Einstein Papers Project
Living Einstein
Dean Reese blogs at The Blue Glow Worm.
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