Albert Einstein (pronounced
/ˈælbərt ˈaɪnstaɪn/;
German: [ˈalbɐt ˈaɪnʃtaɪn] (
listen); 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German
theoretical physicist who discovered the theory of
general relativity, effecting a revolution in
physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of
modern physics.
He received the
1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the
photoelectric effect".
Near the beginning of his career, Einstein thought that
Newtonian mechanics was no longer enough to reconcile the laws of
classical mechanics with the laws of the
electromagnetic field. This led to the development of his
special theory of relativity. He realized, however, that the principle of relativity could also be extended to
gravitational fields, and with his subsequent theory of gravitation in 1916, he published a paper on the
general theory of relativity. He continued to deal with problems of
statistical mechanics and
quantum theory, which led to his explanations of
particle theory and the motion of molecules. He also investigated the thermal properties of light which laid the foundation of the
photon theory of light. In 1917, Einstein applied the general theory of relativity to model the structure of the
universe as a whole.
He escaped from
Nazi Germany in 1933, where he had been a professor at the
Berlin Academy of Sciences, and settled in the U.S., becoming a citizen in 1940. On the eve of
World War II, he helped alert
President Franklin D. Roosevelt that Germany might be developing an atomic weapon, and recommended that the U.S. begin nuclear research. That research, begun by a newly-established
Manhattan Project, resulted in the U.S. becoming the first and only country to possess nuclear weapons during the war. He taught physics at the
Institute for Advanced Study at
Princeton, New Jersey, until his death in 1955.
Einstein published
more than 300 scientific papers along with over 150 non-scientific works, and received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many European and American universities;
he also wrote about various philosophical and political subjects such as
socialism,
international relations and the
existence of God.
His great intelligence and originality has made the word "Einstein" synonymous with
genius.
Albert Einstein was born in
Ulm, in the
Kingdom of Württemberg in the German Empire on 14 March 1879.
[7] His father was
Hermann Einstein, a salesman and engineer. His mother was
Pauline Einstein (née Koch). In 1880, the family moved to
Munich, where his father and his uncle founded
Elektrotechnische Fabrik J. Einstein & Cie, a company that manufactured electrical equipment based on
direct current.
[7]
Albert Einstein in 1893 (age 14).
Early life and education
The Einsteins were non-observant
Jews. Their son attended a
Catholic elementary school from the age of five until ten.
Although Einstein had early speech difficulties, he was a top student in elementary school.
His father once showed him a pocket compass; Einstein realized that there must be something causing the needle to move, despite the apparent "empty space".
As he grew, Einstein built models and mechanical devices for fun and began to show a talent for mathematics.
In 1889, Max Talmud (later changed to Max Talmey) introduced the ten-year old Einstein to key texts in science, mathematics and philosophy, including Immanuel Kant's
Critique of Pure Reason and
Euclid's Elements (which Einstein called the "holy little geometry book").
Talmud was a poor Jewish medical student from Poland. The Jewish community arranged for Talmud to take meals with the Einsteins each week on Thursdays for six years. During this time Talmud wholeheartedly guided Einstein through many secular educational interests.
In 1894, his father's company failed: direct current (DC) lost the
War of Currents to
alternating current (AC). In search of business, the Einstein family moved to Italy, first to
Milan and then, a few months later, to
Pavia. When the family moved to Pavia, Einstein stayed in Munich to finish his studies at the
Luitpold Gymnasium (see
de:Albert-Einstein-Gymnasium München). His father intended for him to pursue
electrical engineering, but Einstein clashed with authorities and resented the school's regimen and teaching method. He later wrote that the spirit of learning and creative thought were lost in strict
rote learning. In the spring of 1895, he withdrew to join his family in Pavia, convincing the school to let him go by using a doctor's note.
[7] During this time, Einstein wrote his first scientific work, "The Investigation of the State of
Aether in
Magnetic Fields".
[15]
Einstein applied directly to the
Eidgenössische Polytechnische Schule (ETH) in
Zurich, Switzerland. Lacking the requisite
Matura certificate, he took an entrance examination, which he failed, although he got exceptional marks in mathematics and physics.
[16] The Einsteins sent Albert to
Aarau, in northern Switzerland to finish secondary school.
[7] While lodging with the family of Professor Jost Winteler, he fell in love with Winteler's daughter, Marie. (His sister
Maja later married the Wintelers' son, Paul.)
[17] In Aarau, Einstein studied
Maxwell's
electromagnetic theory. At age 17, he graduated, and, with his father's approval, renounced his
citizenship in the German Kingdom of Württemberg to avoid
military service, and in 1896 he enrolled in the four year mathematics and physics teaching diploma program at the Polytechnic in Zurich. Marie Winteler moved to
Olsberg, Switzerland for a teaching post.
Einstein's future wife,
Mileva Marić, also enrolled at the Polytechnic that same year, the only woman among the six students in the mathematics and physics section of the teaching diploma course. Over the next few years, Einstein and Marić's friendship developed into romance, and they read books together on extra-curricular physics in which Einstein was taking an increasing interest. In 1900 Einstein was awarded the Zurich Polytechnic teaching diploma, but Marić failed the examination with a poor grade in the mathematics component, theory of functions.
[18] There have been claims that Marić collaborated with Einstein on his celebrated 1905 papers,
[19][20] but historians of physics who have studied the issue find no evidence that she made any substantive contributions.
[21][22][23][24]
Marriages and children
In early 1902, Einstein and Mileva Marić had a daughter they named
Lieserl in their correspondence, who was born in
Novi Sad where Marić's parents lived.
[25] Her full name is not known, and her fate is uncertain after 1903.
[26]
Einstein and Marić married in January 1903. In May 1904, the couple's first son,
Hans Albert Einstein, was born in
Bern, Switzerland. Their second son,
Eduard, was born in Zurich in July 1910. In 1914, Einstein moved to Berlin, while his wife remained in Zurich with their sons. Marić and Einstein divorced on 14 February 1919, having lived apart for five years.
Einstein
married Elsa Löwenthal (née Einstein) on 2 June 1919, after having had a relationship with her since 1912. She was his first cousin maternally and his second cousin paternally. In 1933, they emigrated permanently to the United States. In 1935, Elsa Einstein was diagnosed with heart and kidney problems and died in December 1936.
After graduating, Einstein spent almost two frustrating years searching for a teaching post, but a former classmate's father helped him secure a job in Bern, at the
Federal Office for Intellectual Property, the patent office, as an assistant
examiner.
He evaluated
patent applications for electromagnetic devices. In 1903, Einstein's position at the Swiss Patent Office became permanent, although he was passed over for promotion until he "fully mastered machine technology".
Much of his work at the patent office related to questions about transmission of electric signals and electrical-mechanical synchronization of time, two technical problems that show up conspicuously in the
thought experiments that eventually led Einstein to his radical conclusions about the nature of light and the fundamental connection between space and time.
With a few friends he met in Bern, Einstein started a small discussion group, self-mockingly named "The
Olympia Academy", which met regularly to discuss science and philosophy. Their readings included the works of
Henri Poincaré,
Ernst Mach, and
David Hume, which influenced his scientific and philosophical outlook.
