Person of the Century
Albert Einstein
The year 1905 changed the face of Science in general and Physics
in particular. It changed our view of the world and presented before
us a genius, whose works inspired further research in many areas
of science. 26 year old Albert Einstein wrote his legendary articles
which provided the basis for three fundamental fields in physics:
the theory of relativity, quantum theory, and the theory of Brownian
motion.
Writing about the man himself and his works
is indeed a difficult task! Considering that science never ceases
to progress and that we may still have much to unravel from Einstein’s life and
his work! He truly lives up to the cliché that actions speak
louder than words! Introducing this great scientist in our page
here is humbling and would be like showing light to the bright
sun! However, the more we learn about the stalwart, the more we
are gripped by awe and young minds are indeed spurred by scientific
temper to pursue their goals!
What would be more better than having a peek
into his life and works, which have galvanized development in
science and helped disentangle some of the mysteries of nature
that have always guided man’s thinking!
The world welcomed Albert Einstein on March
14, 1879 and Germany had the privilege of doing the honours!
He was not “born
intelligent”
as one would think! In fact there were no early signs of his intellectual
abilities. He was a slow talker, but showed from childhood the
concentration and perseverance of a great man in the making. During
his school years he disliked rigid methods of instruction and was
termed disruptive by the school officials. Little did they know
then, that this disruptive
"kid" would metamorphose into a Nobel Laureate and transform
scientific thought beyond imagination!
In 1898, young Albert Einstein applied for
admission to the Munich Technical Institute and was turned down.
The young man, the Institute declared, "showed no promise" as
a student. Hold your breath by 1905, in a space of seven years
he had formulated his special theory of relativity!
He was however fascinated by mathematics
and science and once wrote
"I imagine myself becoming a teacher in those branches of
the natural sciences, choosing the theoretical part of them”.
From an early age itself Einstein showed independent thinking,
which proved to be the strongest aspect of his personality. Einstein
announced his decision to drop his German Nationality on grounds
of chauvinism and abandon the Jewish community, for he disliked
the narrow mindedness of relegion. He believed that a nation like
Switzerland, devoid of an over ambitious constitution, would be
preferable to settle in.
Einstein graduated in 1900 as a teacher of mathematics and physics.
By mid 1901 he had a temporary job as a teacher, teaching mathematics.
He later entered the Polytechnic Academy in Zurich, Switzerland,
where he earned a doctorate in Physics in 1905. The same year he
published three research papers which revolutionised scientific
thought.
In the first of these papers, Einstein examined
Max Planck’s
discovery, according to which electromagnetic energy radiates from
objects in discreet quantities. The energy of these quanta was
directly proportional to the frequency of the radiation. This seemed
to contradict classical electromagnetic theory, based on Maxwell's
equations and the laws of thermodynamics, which proposed that electromagnetic
energy consisted of waves which could contain only small discretepackets
of energy. Einstein used Planck's quantum hypothesis to describe
the electromagnetic radiation of light.
His second paper was on what we call today…the
Special Theory Of Relativity. He based his new theory on the
fact that the laws of physics had to have the same form in any
frame of reference. As a second fundamental hypothesis, Einstein
assumed that the speed of light remained constant in all frames
of reference.
Later in 1905 Einstein showed how mass and energy were equivalent.
His equation E = mc2 is considered to be the most famous
equation, known to all students of science!
The Third of his papers was concerned with statistical mechanics,
a field explored by Ludwig Boltzmann and Josiah Gibbs.
As regarded by many, Einstein did not receive the Nobel Prize
in 1921 for his work on relativity, but for the photoelectric effect.
In 1915 Einstein proposed the General Theory
of Relativity as an extension of the Special Theory. His work
could provide a sound explanation for the vast amounts of energy
released from the nucleus. He had reinforced the kinetic theory,
and he had created a powerful new tool for studying atoms. "THE ATOMIC BOMB". Einstein
wrote a letter to President Roosevelt in this regard. However after
the bombings at Nagasaki and Hiroshima he greatly regretted having
written the letter. Probably for the first time Einstein realized
the detrimental effects that science could have, and that it could “kill” if
not used carefully.
His General Theory of Relativity, proposed
that matter causes space to curve. Smaller masses travel toward
larger masses not because they are "attracted" by a
mysterious force, but because the smaller objects travel through
space that is warped by the larger object. The basic postulate
of the Theory of General Relativity states that a uniform gravitational
field (like that near the Earth) is equivalent to a uniform acceleration.
What this means, in effect, is that a person cannot tell the
difference between (a) standing on the Earth, feeling the effects
of gravity as a downward pull and (b) standing in a very smooth
elevator that is accelerating upwards at just the right rate
of exactly 32 feet per second squared.
In both cases, a person would feel the same downward pull of gravity.
Einstein asserted that these effects were actually the same. A
far cry from Newton's view of gravity as a force acting at a distance!
Einstein had a way with words! To a layman
he described relativity as.”When you sit with a nice girl
for two hours, it seems like two minutes. When you sit on a hot
stove for two minutes, it seems like two hours - that's relativity."
His work no doubt helped us in expanding
our scientific horizon; however his approach to work teaches
us humility. On this note….EINSTEIN
came to Princeton University in 1935 and was asked what he would
require for his study. He replied: "A desk, some pads and
a pencil, and a large wastebasket to hold all of my mistakes." He
was modest in his endevour to get to the top and believed that
it is only through mistakes that one can accomplish success.
Celebrity so annoyed Albert Einstein that
he once listed his occupation as "artist's model" -
a hilarious claim, particularly given his penchant for moth-eaten
sweaters and his famous flyaway hair!!
The world bid adieu to this “model” and “great
Mind”
on 18th April 1955. Einstein, however, continues to live through
his immortal works. In the words of Lord Tennyson, one could rightly
say about Einstein.
“And draw them all along, and flow
To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.” |