|
Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879 – April 18, 1955) was a German-born theoretical
physicist who is best known for his theory of relativity and specifically
mass-energy equivalence, E = mc2. He was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics
"for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the
law of the photoelectric effect."
Einstein's many contributions to physics include his special theory of relativity,
which reconciled mechanics with electromagnetism, and his general theory of
relativity which extended the principle of relativity to non-uniform motion,
creating a new theory of gravitation. His other contributions include relativistic
cosmology, capillary action, critical opalescence, classical problems of
statistical mechanics and their application to quantum theory, an explanation of
the Brownian movement of molecules, atomic transition probabilities, the quantum
theory of a monatomic gas, thermal properties of light with low radiation density
(which laid the foundation for the photon theory), a theory of radiation including
stimulated emission, the conception of a unified field theory, and the
geometrization of physics.
Works by Albert Einstein include more than fifty scientific papers but also
non-scientific works, including About Zionism: Speeches and Lectures by Professor
Albert Einstein. (1930), "Why War?" (1933, co-authored by Sigmund Freud), The World
As I See It (1934), Out of My Later Years (1950), and a book on science for the
general reader, The Evolution of Physics (1938, co-authored by Leopold Infeld).
In 1999 Einstein was named Time magazine's "Person of the Century", and a poll of
prominent physicists named him the greatest physicist of all time. In popular
culture the name "Einstein" has become synonymous with genius.
In 1921, Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, "for his services to
Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the
photoelectric effect". This refers to his 1905 paper on the photoelectric effect:
"On a Heuristic Viewpoint Concerning the Production and Transformation of Light",
which was well supported by the experimental evidence by that time. The
presentation speech began by mentioning "his theory of relativity [which had] been
the subject of lively debate in philosophical circles [and] also has astrophysical
implications which are being rigorously examined at the present time." (Einstein
1923)
Einstein travelled to New York City in the United States for the first time on
April 2, 1921. When asked where he got his scientific ideas, Einstein explained
that he believed scientific work best proceeds from an examination of physical
reality and a search for underlying axioms, with consistent explanations that apply
in all instances and avoid contradicting each other. He also recommended theories
with visualizable results (Einstein 1954).
Source : Some of the information on this page came
from a Wikipedia article and is licensed under the GNU Documentation
License. ©2008 www.geneticmatrix.com.
|
General
Details
Albert
Einstein - Generator - Biography
