Albert Einstein

14 March 1879 (in Ulm, Germany)-18 April 1955 (in Princeton, New Jersey). Physicist.

Childhood and Youth

Albert Einstein was born on 14 March 1879 in Ulm, Germany. It is said, that his speaking skills developed rather late. He himself told his biographer that he started speaking at the age of 3. He said that he skipped babytalk on purpose in order to be able to talk in full sentences. However, his Grandmother belied Einstein's claim by stating her grandson could definitely talk before the age of 3 (Brian 1). Einstein was an introverted child. He did not play with other children. When something happened he disliked he had outbursts of fury. Mostly, he vented this on his little sister Maja (Brian 3-4).

At school, to which he went at the age of 7, Einstein was an outsider. Before, he had been taught at home. His tutor called him wunderkind whereas his schoolteacher thought that Einstein developed rather late and slowly. However, at the age of 9 he showed his talent in Mathematics and Latin for the first time. His scientific interest was fuelled by a medicine student, Max Talmud, who went to dinner at the Einstein's every week. This interest and knowledge developed even further with the help of Einstein's Uncle Jakob, especially during his years at secondary school. At the age of 13, he tried higher mathematics for his enjoyment. He also showed interest in Immanuel Kant's philosophical theories and in literature, especially Goethe, Schiller and Shakespeare who were his favourite writers. He was interested in music as well and played the violin. His sister Maja said once, that Einstein, after playing the violin for a while, could solve physical or mathematical problems better (Brian 9).

Einstein quit school at the age of 15 because, according to his doctor, he was close to a depression due to the fact that he was too good at mathematics but could not keep up with his classmates in all the other subjects. Thus, he was not able to study Philosophy at University which was his big dream. Therefore, he decided to go to the Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich but he failed the qualifying examination because he did not show interest in Chemistry or Biology. Despite that, a professor at this school saw Einstein's abilities and told him that he was allowed to attend the school when achieving his matriculation standard (Brian 11-12). In 1896, he achieved his matriculation standard and went directly to the Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich where he studied mathematics and physics in order to become a teacher. In 1901 he gained his diploma but could not find a teaching position. Therefore, he worked for the Swiss Patent Office (Brian 20).

Achievements in Physics

The Theory of Relativity

In April 1905, Einstein found the solution to a problem that bothered him since childhood. This problem involved electricity, magnetism, matter and movement, as well as the nature of light, space and time (Brian 95). Einstein questioned the concepts and laws of time and space, which can only be valid when considering one's own experiences. So, experiences can change the concepts of time and space. With this initial stage for a solution Einstein changed the law of simultaneity and formed his Special Theory of Relativity (Brian 96). This theory questioned Newton's worldview that prevailed so far. Newton thought that space was an unchangeable, physical reality that was filled with ether. This, then, resulted in Einstein's General Theory of Relativity which he published in 1915.

The Photoelectric Effect

Before, he had already written an essay about the Photoelectric Effect. With this theory he countered the prevailing theory that light comes in waves. Einstein found out that light itself moves in particles and is completely free from matter. This theory was based on Max Planck's theory that matter absorbed light (Brian 99). He received a Nobel Prize in 1921 for this theory, 16 years after his discovery of this theory and the publishing of his paper On a Heuristic Viewpoint Concerning the Production and Transformation of Light (1905).

The Atomic Bomb

Einstein wanted to help President Roosevelt to develop the atomic bomb before the scientists in Nazi Germany did (Brian 514). However, he did not invent the atomic bomb on his own, he only gave the formula E = mc² which he already discovered in 1907 and served as an addition to his Special Theory of Relativity (http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/biografien/EinsteinAlbert/).

Einstein's Death and his Legacy

Einstein wanted his brain to be conserved in order to help understanding the functions of brains. The pathologist, Thomas Harvey, took his brain with the approval of Einstein's son Hans Albert. Harvey, then, gave parts of Einstein's brain to several scientists in order to find the origin of his genius. So far, nothing extraordinary has been found, scientists are still examining Einstein's brain (Brian 699-703).

Sources:

Brian, Denis. Einstein. Sein Leben. Weinheim: WILEY-VCH Verlag, 2005.

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/einstein-bio.html

http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/biografien/EinsteinAlbert/