Albert Einstein (1March 87914-1April 95 18) is a famous theoretical physicist, thinker and philosopher of Jewish descent, and also the founder of the theory of relativity. Albert Einstein is generally regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most important scientists in the 20th century.
all one's life
early stage
Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany, a small owner's family who runs an electrical workshop. His parents are Jews. His father Herman Einstein was a successful businessman and his mother Pauline Cork was a pianist. Einstein was not very clever since he was a child, and he couldn't speak at the age of three. At the age of five, he fell in love with the pocket compass and began to practice playing the violin at the age of six. The year after Einstein was born, the whole family moved to Munich from 65438 to 0880. 1894, the whole family moved to Milan, Italy. 1895 transferred to the state middle school in Arau, Switzerland. When Einstein was in primary school and middle school, his homework was ordinary and he didn't like people. Neither his teachers nor his classmates like him. The teacher who taught him Greek and Latin once publicly scolded him: "You will accomplish nothing." His father once wrote to a friend and said, "Einstein's academic performance did not fully meet my hopes and expectations." For a long time, I have been used to seeing that there are always bad and good grades on his report card. "
At the age of 4, Einstein came to Zurich, Switzerland, and 1895 enrolled in the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. He did well in math and physics, but failed in other subjects. Herzen, the principal of the school, recommended him to study in Arau State Middle School for one year. Einstein was happy during his study in Arau State Middle School, which believed that "conceptual thinking is based on intuition". It completely meets his needs. 1896, Einstein entered the normal department of the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich to study physics. Weber, a physics professor at the school, hated Einstein very much. He once said to Einstein, "You are smart, but you have one shortcoming, that is, you can't listen to others." Einstein's girlfriend mileva often clashed with Professor Weber, who accused him of being unfair to Einstein. 1June, 899, Einstein caused an explosion in the laboratory, and his hand was serious. 1900 graduated, failed to stay in school as a teaching assistant, and had to make a living as a "tutor". 190 1 acquired Swiss nationality. 1902, with the help of the father of M. Grossman, a college classmate, was hired as a technician by the Patent Office in Bern, Switzerland, engaged in the technical appraisal of invention patent applications. He used his spare time to do scientific research, and made historic achievements in three different fields of physics in 1905, especially the establishment of special relativity and the proposal of light quantum theory, which promoted the revolution of physics theory. In the following year, 65438+ 10, and 65438+may, he received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Zurich with his thesis "A New Method for Determining Molecular Size".
Miracle year
1905, Einstein published six epoch-making papers, namely: the preliminary views on the generation and transformation of light, a new method to determine the molecular size, the motion of suspended particles in static liquid required by the theory of thermomolecular motion, the electrodynamics of moving objects, and whether the inertia of an object is related to the energy it contains. "Some investigations on Brownian motion". Therefore, this year is called "Einstein miracle year". Therefore, the year 2005 after 100 was designated as "World Physics Year".
Einstein's former residence in Bonn 1905. In March, the German Physical Yearbook published a tentative view on the generation and transformation of light. He thinks that light is composed of separated particles. Einstein explained that light is also composed of small energy particles (light quantum), and quantum can move like a single particle. The theory of "light quantum" greatly promoted the quantum theory founded by Planck in 1900, and revealed the basic feature of the microscopic world: wave-particle duality.
1905 may 1 1 day, the german yearbook of physics published a paper "the motion of suspended particles in a still liquid required by the theory of thermomolecular motion" (die von der molecular kinetic schentheorier w? I hope you can stay. This paper is a pioneering study on the translation and diffusion of Brownian motion.
1905 On June 30th, the German Yearbook of Physics published "On Electrodynamics of Moving Objects" (Elektrodynamik bewegter K? Rper)。 The basic principle of special relativity is put forward for the first time, and two basic axioms are put forward in the paper: "the speed of light is constant" and "the principle of relativity".
1905 On September 27th, the German Yearbook of Physics published "Is the inertia of an object related to the energy it contains? "(is it die Tr? gheit eines K？ What is an energy company like? ngig？ ), that is, "the mass of an object can measure its energy", and then E = mc? The formula of.
make one's name
Einstein was a part-time lecturer at Berne University from 65438 to 0908. 1909 left the patent office and became an associate professor of theoretical physics at the University of Zurich. 19 1 1 is a professor of theoretical physics at Deutschland University in Prague, and 19 12 is a professor at his alma mater, Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. 19 14 years, at the invitation of Max Planck and walther nernst, he returned to Germany and served as the director of the Royal Institute of Physics William and a professor at the University of Berlin until 1933. 1920 at the invitation of hendrik lorentz and paul ehrenfest, he also served as distinguished professor of Leiden university in the Netherlands. After the outbreak of World War I, he devoted himself to public and underground anti-war activities.
1919165438+10/0 The New York Times published the news that new observations confirmed the theory of relativity, describing it as a great victory of Einstein's theory. Einstein published his general theory of relativity in 19 15. His prediction that light will bend after passing through the gravitational field of the sun was confirmed by the observation of the total solar eclipse by British astronomer arthur stanley eddington in 19 19. 19 16 The gravitational wave he predicted was also confirmed in 1978. Einstein and relativity have become household names in the west, but they have also attracted vicious attacks from chauvinists, militarists and anti-Semitists in Germany and other countries.
19 17, Einstein put forward the theory of stimulated radiation, which became the theoretical basis of laser.
Einstein was awarded the 192 1 Nobel Prize in Physics for his research on photoelectric effect. Relativity was not mentioned in the announcement of the Swedish Academy Science Prize because it is still controversial.
1933 1 10 After the Nazi Party seized the German regime in October, Einstein was the primary object of persecution in the scientific community. Fortunately, he was giving a lecture in America at that time and was not killed. Returning to Europe in March, he took refuge in Belgium. On September 9, he found himself being followed by the Gestapo who planned to assassinate him. He crossed the sea on a starry night, and in June 5438+10, he was transferred to the newly established Princeton Institute for Advanced Studies in the United States (Princeton Institute for Advanced Studies and Princeton University are not an institution), until he retired in June 5438 +0945. 1940 Obtaining American citizenship.
1937, Einstein visited Charlie Chaplin who lived in California.
1939, he was told that uranium nuclear fission and its chain reaction were discovered. Under the impetus of Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard, he wrote to President Roosevelt and suggested developing an atomic bomb to prevent the Germans from taking the lead. On the eve of the end of World War II, the United States dropped atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Einstein was strongly dissatisfied with this. After the war, the United States waged unremitting struggles and launched a peaceful movement against the dangers of nuclear war and fascism.
stop
Einstein died of ruptured aortic aneurysm at Princeton. Thomas Stoltz Harvey, a pathologist at Princeton Hospital, took Einstein's brain and preserved it without the permission of Einstein's family. Pathologists hope to study Einstein's brain in neuroscience in the future and find out why Einstein is so smart. In order to comply with Einstein's will, he did not hold any funeral after his death, nor did he build a grave or monument. The ashes were scattered in a place that had been kept secret, so as not to make the place where he was buried sacred. Einstein has been engaged in the search for a unified field theory all his life, but this work has never been successful. In this regard, Abraham Pais, a famous expert on ehrlich, once said: "Einstein should go fishing after 1925, instead of continuing his research" [3]. At present, it is one of the central problems of theoretical physics to find a theory that contains more content than the unified field theory and can explain all kinds of basic interactions in a unified way.
heritage
1999 Time Magazine selected him as the man of the century. In memory of him, the 99th element was named "polonium".
In addition, the word "Einstein" is also a registered trademark of Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Personality and thought
Einstein was a pacifist. He is kind, friendly, modest and independent, so he is widely respected. He sometimes tells jokes and likes sailing and playing the violin. He is also an absent-minded professor, who often forgets things, concentrates on physical problems and ignores the world around him. He is also a vegetarian. He once said: "I think vegetarians' attitude towards life comes from a very simple physiological balance, so it is beneficial to human ideals."
Religious views
Einstein was a Jew, but he didn't believe in Judaism. He believes that religion is the embodiment of naive superstition, and he just praises the beauty of the universe and nature. On March 24th, 1954, in a reply to a worker, he said, "What you read about my religious belief is of course a lie, a lie that is systematically repeated. I don't believe in a personified God, and I have never denied it, but I have expressed it clearly. If there is anything in my heart that can be called religion, it is infinite admiration for the world structure that our science can reveal. "
He also said (see Philosophy of Living, No.1 13, No.1 193 1): "The understanding of the existence of things we don't know, the deepest reasoning acceptable to our consciousness and the feeling of the best things constitute our piety to religion. In this sense, but only in this sense, I believe in religion. "
In reply to Rabbi Herbert Goldstein of new york International Synagogue, he said: "I believe in the God of Spinoza, a God who embodies himself through the harmony and order of existing things, rather than a God who cares about the fate and behavior of mankind." After being attacked by Martin Buber about religious belief, he declared, "All we physicists do is follow him and draw his line." As a summary of Einstein's religious belief, he once said: "There is an infinite high-level wisdom, which shows itself through the details that our fragile thinking can feel, and humble praise constitutes my religious belief." In the letter, Einstein wrote:
"I think Judaism, like all other religions, is the embodiment of naive superstition ... I think the word God is just a wording and a product of human weakness. The Bible is full of many brilliant but still quite simple and naive legends. "
This letter was auctioned in London in 2008.
Einstein became an honorary member of the rationalist press association from 65438 to 0934.
Political Views
Einstein said that he was a pacifist and a humanist, and he became a democratic socialist in his later years. He once said: "I think Gandhi's view is the most enlightened of all politicians in our period." We should work hard in his spiritual direction: not to achieve our goals through violence, but not to form an alliance with the forces you think are evil. "Einstein's views on socialism, McCarthyism and racism are controversial (see Einstein and Socialism, he is one of the founders of the German Liberal Democratic Party).
According to the records about Einstein kept by the FBI, he was refused to immigrate to the United States because of the Alien Exclusion Act. One of the reasons is that Einstein believed in, advocated and promoted anarchism, thus making the government exist in name only. He was also accused of being a participant and supporter of "1937- 1954 34 * * * proletarian movement." However, these files were submitted to the FBI by other departments, not official documents of the FBI.
Einstein opposed the brutal government, and because he was a Jew, he opposed the Nazi government and left Germany shortly after the Nazi government came to power. Under the influence of others, Einstein began to support the development of the atomic bomb in order to prevent Hitler from developing it first. To this end, he also wrote a letter (probably written by someone else) to the then US President Roosevelt on August 2, 1939, suggesting to start developing nuclear weapons. Roosevelt accepted the proposal and set up a group to study the feasibility of uranium as a weapon. A few years later, this group was replaced by the Manhattan Project. After the war, because Japan surrendered unconditionally, Einstein began to lobby for the elimination of nuclear weapons and the establishment of a peaceful government. Because the atomic bomb is not suitable for military training, he said, "I don't know what weapons were used in World War III, but in World War IV, people only fought with sticks and stones."
Einstein supported Zionism, he supported Jews to choose settlements in ancient Jewish land, and he was keen to establish Hebrew University in Jerusalem. 1930, Einstein published an article entitled "On Zionism: Professor Einstein's Lecture" in Hebrew University. Einstein also sent all his papers to Hebrew University. But he opposed nationalism and doubted whether the establishment of a Jewish state was the best choice. He may fantasize about Jews and Arabs living in peace. 1952, Einstein was invited to be the second president of the newly established Israel in his later years, but he refused because he lacked the necessary human ability.
Einstein also fought with Shi Huaizhe and Russell to ban nuclear tests and nuclear weapons. A few days before his death, he signed the Russell-Einstein Declaration, which led to the Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs. In his letter to Russell, he wrote:
Dear Bertrand Russell:
Thank you for your letter of April 5th. I am glad to sign your excellent statement, and I agree with your list of candidates.
Salute, Einstein. "
God doesn't roll dice
In the first half of the 20th century, Einstein was one of the promoters of quantum mechanics, but he was not satisfied with the later development of quantum mechanics, that is, the Copenhagen interpretation headed by Bohr. This set of explanations shows that there is a fundamental randomness in the laws of nature, and Heisenberg developed the famous "uncertainty principle" [1](p×q is not equal to q×p). Einstein and other scientists put forward an "EPR paradox" to refute Copenhagen's explanation. He once said a famous saying: "God doesn't roll dice", and he also said: "Does the moon only exist when you look at him?" Einstein obeyed the law of causality and was the last classical physicist.
domestic
Einstein and Serbian mathematician mileva? ) There is an unmarried illegitimate daughter, Liselle? Einstein Lieserl Einstein (1902-1903? ), but from 1903 to 19 19, Einstein married mileva, and later Mileva gave birth to two sons Hans for Einstein. Albert. Hans Albert Einstein and Edward? Edward einstein. Einstein's second wife, elsa, was his cousin, their mothers were sisters, and their great-grandfathers were Rupert Einstein. This marriage lasted from 19 19 to 1936 when Elsa died. Einstein's second son Edward? Einstein suffered from schizophrenia under the influence of mileva family inheritance and never got married. The eldest son Hans? Albert is a professor of hydraulic engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He has three children, the eldest son bernhard Caesar Einstein is a physicist, the second son Klaus Martin (1932–1938) and adopted daughter Evelyn. Bernhard Caesar Einstein had five children, and the youngest, thomas martin Einstein, became a doctor.
Einstein's grandson bernhard Caesar Einstein wrote a letter. Grandpa Einstein's most cherished items are violin and pipe.