THE miracle year In 1905, often called Einstein's "miracle year", he submitted a paper for his
doctorate and had four papers published in the Annalen der Physik, one of the best known physics journals. The four papers: the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, special relativity, and the equivalence of matter and energy, would alter the course of modern physics and bring him to the attention of the academic world. In his paper on matter and energy, Einstein deduced the well-known equation E=mc2, suggesting that tiny particles of matter could be converted into huge amounts of energy, foreshadowing the development of nuclear power. At first Einstein's 1905 papers were ignored by the physics community. This began to change when he received the attention of Max Planck, probably the most influential physicist of his generation and founder of quantum theory. With Planck’s complimentary comments Einstein was invited to lecture at international meetings and he rose rapidly in the academic world. He was offered a series of positions at prestigious institutions, such as the University of Zürich, the University of Prague, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, and finally the University of Berlin, where he served as director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics from 1913 to 1933. |
THe theory of relativity Einstein's early work on the theory of relativity dealt only with systems in uniform motion with respect to one another and is referred to as the special theory of relativity. "It demonstrated that two observers moving at great speed with respect to each other and will disagree about measurements of length and time intervals made in each other's systems, that the speed of light is the limiting speed of all bodies having mass, and that mass and energy are equivalent."
In 1911 he asserted the equivalence of gravitation and inertia, and in 1916 he completed his mathematical formulation of a general theory of relativity, "[Which was the] gravitation as a determiner of the curvature of a space-time continuum." He then began work on his unified field theory, which attempts to explain gravitation,electromagnetism, and subatomic phenomena. |
Photons and the quantum theoryIn addition to the theory of relativity, Einstein is also known for his
contributions to the development of the quantum theory. He postulated light quanta (photons), upon which he based his explanation of the photoelectric effect, and he developed the quantum theory of specific heat. Einstein regarded ithe theory as only a temporarily useful structure. He reserved his main efforts for his unified field theory, feeling that when it was completed, the quantization of energy and charge would be found to be a factor of it. |
published worksThe following are only a few of Einstein's published works:
Special Theory of Relativity, 1905. General Theory of Relativity, 1916. Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement, 926. About Zionism, 1930. Why War?, 1933. My Philosophy, 1934. The Evolution of Physics, 1938. Out of My Later Years, 1950 |