Ulm Germany

Death 1955 April 18

Princeton USA

Albert Einstein? ,1March 87914-1April 955 18), a famous theoretical physicist and the founder of the theory of relativity.

Einstein's life

Einstein is the greatest physicist of our time. He loved physics and devoted his life to the theoretical research of physics. People call him Copernicus in the 20th century and Newton in the 20th century.

Einstein grew up in an era of rapid changes in physics. With the efforts of a generation of physicists represented by him, the development of physics has entered a new historical period. The theoretical system of classical physics established by Galileo and Newton has experienced nearly 200 years of development. By the middle of19th century, brilliant achievements have been made due to the discovery of the law of conservation and transformation of energy, the establishment of thermodynamics and statistical physics, especially the discovery of electromagnetism by Faraday and Maxwell. These achievements convinced many physicists at that time that the theoretical problems in the field of physics had been solved in principle, leaving only details for future generations to supplement and develop. However, the course of history is just the opposite, followed by a series of new phenomena that can not be explained by classical physics: ether drift experiment, radioactivity of elements, electron movement, blackbody radiation, photoelectric effect and so on. Faced with this new situation, physicists generally try to solve the contradiction by mending the old theoretical framework. However, young Einstein was not bound by the old tradition. On the basis of the research work of Lorenz and others, he made essential changes to some basic concepts such as space and time. This great breakthrough in theory ushered in a new era of physics.

Einstein's most important contribution in his life is the theory of relativity. 1905 published a paper entitled "on electrodynamics of moving objects", put forward the principle of relativity in a special sense and the principle of invariance of light speed, and established the special theory of relativity. This theory includes Newtonian mechanics as a special case of low-speed motion theory. It reveals the essential unity of time and space as the existing form of matter, profoundly reveals the unity of mechanical motion and electromagnetic motion in kinematics, further reveals the unity of matter and motion (equivalence of mass and energy), develops the principle that matter and motion cannot be separated, and lays a theoretical foundation for the utilization of atomic energy. Then, after years of efforts, he established the general theory of relativity in 19 15, further revealing the unified relationship between four-dimensional space-time and matter, pointing out that space-time cannot exist independently without matter, and the structure and nature of space depend on the distribution of matter. It is not a flat Euclidean space, but a curved Riemannian space. According to the gravitational theory of general relativity, he concluded that light travels along a curve rather than a straight line in the gravitational field. This theoretical prediction was confirmed by British astronomers in the solar eclipse observation in 19 19, when the whole world was shocked. 1938, he made great progress in the motion of general relativity, that is, he deduced the motion equation of an object from the field equation, further revealing the unity among time and space, matter, motion and gravity. Since the 1960s, due to the great development of experimental technology and astronomy, the research on general relativity and gravity theory has been paid attention to. In addition, Einstein's research on cosmology, the unified field theory of gravity and electromagnetism, and quantum theory all contributed to the development of physics.

Einstein is not only a great scientist, an outstanding thinker with the spirit of philosophical exploration, but also an upright person with a high sense of social responsibility. He lived in Germany and the United States, the center of western political vortex, and experienced two world wars. He deeply realized how the fruits of a scientist's labor will affect the society and what responsibility an intellectual should bear to the society.

Einstein wholeheartedly hoped that science would benefit mankind, but he witnessed the great damage brought by science and technology in two world wars. Therefore, he believes that the issue of war and peace is the most important issue in the contemporary era, and it is in this respect that he has made the most speeches in his life. His first public statement on political issues was a statement against World War I signed in 19 14. His last speech on political issues, namely, the Russell-Einstein Declaration signed in April 1955, is still an appeal to people to unite and prevent the outbreak of a new world war.

In the gallery of thinkers in the 20th century, Einstein is the embodiment of justice, kindness and truth. His character competes with the heaven, the earth, the sun and the moon, and his scientific contribution will be admired by mankind for generations to come.

This book not only outlines Einstein's great life with full and accurate historical facts, but also explores the spiritual connotation of Einstein's thought and personality from the source of human culture. In the book, metaphysical physical theory and legendary stories may form a deep and interesting three-dimensional picture in the reader's field of vision to explain the historical and cultural process of the 20th century. At the same time, we will understand Einstein in the historical atmosphere and silently accept Einstein's spiritual inspiration in the realistic situation.

Einstein opened up a new path for contemporary physics with the sword of reason, and also cut off all the monsters in the world with the sword of reason. Today, where is this sword of reason? Should we look for this sword of reason? This is a huge question mark left by Einstein. Everyone who enters the 2 1 century should meditate in front of this question mark, and should take over Einstein's sword of reason and work hard for a harmonious and just 2 1 century.