The name of this scientist is familiar to everyone. And if his achievements are an integral part of the school curriculum, then the biography of Albert Einstein remains outside its scope. This is the greatest of scientists. His work determined the development of modern physics. In addition, Albert Einstein was a very interesting person. A short biography will introduce you to the achievements, main milestones of his life's journey and some interesting facts about this scientist.

Childhood

The years of the life of a genius are 1879-1955. The biography of Albert Einstein begins on March 14, 1879. It was then that he was born in the city. His father was a poor Jewish merchant. He ran a small electrical goods workshop.

It is known that Albert did not speak until he was three years old, but showed extraordinary curiosity already in his early years. The future scientist was interested in knowing how the world works. In addition, from a young age he showed aptitude for mathematics and could understand abstract ideas. At the age of 12, Albert Einstein himself studied Euclidean geometry from books.

A biography for children, in our opinion, must certainly include one interesting fact about Albert. It is known that the famous scientist was not a child prodigy in childhood. Moreover, those around him doubted his usefulness. Einstein's mother suspected the presence of a congenital deformity in the child (the fact is that he had a large head). The future genius at school proved himself to be slow, lazy, and withdrawn. Everyone laughed at him. The teachers believed that he was practically incapable of anything. It will be very useful for schoolchildren to learn how difficult the childhood of such a great scientist as Albert Einstein was. A short biography for children should not just list facts, but also teach something. In this case - tolerance, self-confidence. If your child is desperate and thinks he is incapable of anything, just tell him about Einstein's childhood. He did not give up and maintained faith in his own strength, as evidenced by the further biography of Albert Einstein. The scientist has proven that he is capable of much.

Moving to Italy

The young scientist was repelled by boredom and regulation at the Munich school. In 1894, due to business failures, the family was forced to leave Germany. The Einsteins went to Italy, to Milan. Albert, who was 15 years old at the time, took advantage of the opportunity to leave school. He spent another year with his parents in Milan. However, it soon became clear that Albert had to make a decision in life. After graduating from high school in Switzerland (in Arrau), Albert Einstein's biography continues with his studies at the Zurich Polytechnic.

Study at the Zurich Polytechnic

He did not like the teaching methods at the polytechnic. The young man often missed lectures, devoting his free time to studying physics, as well as playing the violin, which was Einstein’s favorite instrument all his life. Albert managed to pass the exams in 1900 (he prepared using the notes of a fellow student). This is how Einstein received his degree. It is known that the professors had a very low opinion of the graduate and did not recommend him to pursue a scientific career.

Working in a patent office

After receiving his diploma, the future scientist began working as an expert in a patent office. Since the assessment of technical characteristics usually took the young specialist about 10 minutes, he had a lot of free time. Thanks to this, Albert Einstein began to develop his own theories. A short biography and his discoveries soon became known to many.

Three Important Works of Einstein

The year 1905 was significant in the development of physics. It was then that Einstein published important works that played an outstanding role in the history of this science in the 20th century. The first of the articles was devoted to The scientist made important predictions about the movement of particles suspended in liquid. This movement, he noted, occurs due to the collision of molecules. Later, the scientist’s predictions were confirmed experimentally.

Albert Einstein, whose brief biography and discoveries are just beginning, soon published a second work, this time devoted to the photoelectric effect. Albert expressed a hypothesis about the nature of light, which was nothing short of revolutionary. The scientist suggested that, under certain circumstances, light can be viewed as a stream of photons - particles whose energy is correlated with the frequency of the light wave. Almost all physicists immediately agreed with Einstein's idea. However, for the theory of photons to gain acceptance in quantum mechanics, it took 20 years of intense efforts by theorists and experimentalists. But Einstein's most revolutionary work was his third, "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies." In it, Albert Einstein presented the ideas of WHAT (particular theory of relativity) with unusual clarity. The short biography of the scientist continues with a short story about this theory.

Partial relativity

It destroyed the concepts of time and space that had existed in science since the time of Newton. A. Poincare and G. A. Lorentz created a number of provisions of the new theory, but only Einstein was able to clearly formulate its postulates in physical language. This concerns, first of all, the presence of a limit on the speed of signal propagation. And today you can find statements that supposedly the theory of relativity was created even before Einstein. However, this is not true, since in THAT the formulas (many of which were actually derived by Poincaré and Lorentz) are not so important as the correct foundations from the point of view of physics. After all, these formulas follow from them. Only Albert Einstein was able to reveal the theory of relativity from the point of view of physical content.

Einstein's view on the structure of theories

General theory of relativity (GR)

Albert Einstein from 1907 to 1915 worked on a new theory of gravity, based on the principles of the theory of relativity. The path that led Albert to success was winding and difficult. The main idea of ​​GR, which he constructed, is the existence of an inextricable connection between the geometry of space-time and the gravitational field. Space-time in the presence of gravitating masses, according to Einstein, becomes non-Euclidean. It develops a curvature, which is greater the more intense the gravitational field in this region of space. Albert Einstein presented the final equations of general relativity in December 1915, during a meeting of the Academy of Sciences in Berlin. This theory is the pinnacle of Albert's creativity. It is, by all accounts, one of the most beautiful in physics.

The eclipse of 1919 and its role in the fate of Einstein

Understanding of general relativity, however, did not come immediately. This theory was of interest to few specialists for the first three years. Only a few scientists understood it. However, in 1919 the situation changed dramatically. Then, by direct observations, it was possible to verify one of the paradoxical predictions of this theory - that a ray of light from a distant star is bent by the gravitational field of the Sun. The test can only be carried out during a total solar eclipse. In 1919, the phenomenon could be observed in parts of the globe where the weather was good. Thanks to this, it became possible to accurately photograph the position of the stars at the time of the eclipse. The expedition, equipped by the English astrophysicist Arthur Eddington, was able to obtain information that confirmed Einstein’s assumption. Albert literally became a global celebrity overnight. The fame that fell upon him was enormous. For a long time, the theory of relativity became a subject of debate. Newspapers from all over the world were filled with articles about her. Many popular books were published, where the authors explained its essence to ordinary people.

Recognition of scientific circles, disputes between Einstein and Bohr

Finally, recognition came in scientific circles. Einstein received the Nobel Prize in 1921 (albeit for quantum theory, not general relativity). He was elected an honorary member of a number of academies. Albert's opinion has become one of the most authoritative in the whole world. Einstein traveled a lot around the world in his twenties. He has participated in international conferences around the world. The role of this scientist was especially important in the discussions that unfolded in the late 1920s on issues of quantum mechanics.

Einstein's debates and conversations with Bohr on these problems became famous. Einstein could not agree with the fact that in a number of cases he operates only with probabilities, and not with exact values ​​of quantities. He was not satisfied with the fundamental indeterminism of the various laws of the microworld. Einstein’s favorite expression was the phrase: “God does not play dice!” However, Albert was apparently wrong in his disputes with Bohr. As you can see, even geniuses make mistakes, including Albert Einstein. The biography and interesting facts about him are complemented by the tragedy that this scientist experienced due to the fact that everyone makes mistakes.

Tragedy in Einstein's life

Unfortunately, the creator of GTR was unproductive in the last 30 years of her life. This was due to the fact that the scientist set himself a task of enormous magnitude. Albert intended to create a unified theory of all possible interactions. Such a theory, as is now clear, is possible only within the framework of quantum mechanics. In pre-war times, in addition, very little was known about the existence of interactions other than gravitational and electromagnetic ones. Albert Einstein's titanic efforts therefore came to nothing. This was perhaps one of the biggest tragedies of his life.

The pursuit of beauty

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of Albert Einstein's discoveries in science. Today, virtually every branch of modern physics is based on the fundamental concepts of relativity or quantum mechanics. Perhaps no less important is the confidence that Einstein instilled in scientists with his work. He showed that nature is knowable, showed the beauty of its laws. It was the desire for beauty that was the meaning of life for such a great scientist as Albert Einstein. His biography is already coming to an end. It’s a pity that one article cannot cover Albert’s entire legacy. But how he made his discoveries is definitely worth telling.

How Einstein created theories

Einstein had a peculiar way of thinking. The scientist singled out ideas that seemed disharmonious or inelegant to him. In doing so, he proceeded mainly from aesthetic criteria. The scientist then proclaimed a general principle that would restore harmony. And then he made predictions about how certain physical objects would behave. This approach produced stunning results. Albert Einstein trained the ability to see a problem from an unexpected angle, rise above it and find an unusual way out. Whenever Einstein got stuck, he played the violin and suddenly a solution popped into his head.

Moving to the USA, last years of life

In 1933, the Nazis came to power in Germany. They burned everything. Albert's family had to emigrate to the USA. Here Einstein worked at Princeton, at the Institute for Basic Research. In 1940, the scientist renounced his German citizenship and officially became a US citizen. He spent his last years at Princeton, working on his grandiose theory. He devoted his moments of rest to boating on the lake and playing the violin. Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955.

Albert's biography and discoveries are still studied by many scientists. Some of the research is quite interesting. In particular, Albert's brain was studied after death for genius, but nothing exceptional was found. This suggests that each of us can become like Albert Einstein. Biography, summary of works and interesting facts about the scientist - all this is inspiring, isn’t it?

“A person begins to live only when
when he manages to surpass himself"

Albert Einstein is a famous physicist, creator of the theory of relativity, author of numerous works on quantum physics, one of the creators of the modern stage of development of this science.

The future Nobel laureate was born on March 15, 1879 in the small German town of Ulm. The family came from an ancient Jewish family. Dad Herman was the owner of a company that stuffed mattresses and pillows with feathers. Einstein's mother was the daughter of a famous corn seller. In 1880, the family went to Munich, where Hermann and his brother Jacob created a small enterprise selling electrical equipment. After some time, the Einsteins' daughter Maria is born.

In Munich, Albert Einstein goes to a Catholic school. As the scientist recalled, at the age of 13 he stopped trusting the beliefs of religious fanatics. Having become familiar with science, he began to look at the world differently. Everything that was said in the Bible no longer seemed plausible to him. All this formed in him a person who is skeptical of everything, especially of authorities. From his childhood, Albert Einstein's most vivid impressions were the book of Euclid's Elements and the compass. At his mother's request, little Albert became interested in playing the violin. The craving for music lingered in the scientist’s heart for a long time. In the future, while in the States, Albert Einstein gave a concert to all emigrants from Germany, performing Mozart's compositions on the violin.

While studying at the gymnasium, Einstein was not an excellent student (except in mathematics). He did not like the method of learning the material, as well as the attitude of teachers towards students. Therefore, he often argued with teachers.

In 1894 the family moved again. This time to Pavia, a small town near Milan. The Einstein brothers are moving their production here.

In the fall of 1895, the young genius comes to Switzerland to enter school. He dreamed of teaching physics. He passes the exam in mathematics very well, but the future scientist fails the tests in botany. Then the director suggested that the young guy take the exam in Aarau in order to re-enter a year later.

At the Arau school, Albert Einstein actively studied Maxwell's electromagnetic theory. In September 1897, he successfully passed the exams. Having a certificate in hand, he enters Zurich, where he soon meets the mathematician Grossman and Mileva Maric, who will later become his wife. After a certain time, Albert Einstein renounces German citizenship and accepts Swiss citizenship. However, for this it was necessary to pay 1000 francs. But there was no money, since the family was in a difficult financial situation. Albert Einstein's relatives move to Milan after going broke. There, Albert's father again creates a company selling electrical equipment, but without his brother.

Einstein liked the teaching style at the Polytechnic, because the teachers did not have an authoritarian attitude. The young scientist felt better. The learning process was also fascinating because the lectures were given by such geniuses as Adolf Hurwitz and Hermann Minkowski.

Science in the life of Einstein

In 1900, Albert completed his studies in Zurich and received a diploma. This gave him the right to teach physics and mathematics. The teachers assessed the young scientist’s knowledge at a high level, but did not want to provide assistance in his future career. The following year he receives Swiss citizenship, but still cannot find a job. There were part-time jobs in schools, but this was not enough to live on. Einstein starved for days, which caused liver problems. Despite all the difficulties, Albert Einstein tried to devote more time to science. In 1901, a Berlin magazine published a paper on the theory of capillarity, where Einstein analyzed the forces of attraction in liquid atoms.

Fellow student Grossman helps Einstein and gets him a job at the patent office. Albert Einstein worked here for 7 years, evaluating patent applications. In 1903 he worked at the Bureau on a permanent basis. The nature and style of work allowed the scientist to study problems related to physics in his free time.

In 1903, Einstein received a letter from Milan saying that his father was dying. Hermann Einstein died after his son arrived.

On January 7, 1903, the young scientist marries his girlfriend from the Polytechnic, Mileva Maric. Later, from his marriage with her, Albert has three children.

Einstein's discoveries

In 1905, Einstein's work on Brownian motion of particles was published. The work of the Englishman Brown already had an explanation. Einstein, having not encountered the scientist’s work before, gave his theory a certain completeness and the possibility of conducting experiments. In 1908, the experiments of the Frenchman Perrin confirmed Einstein's theory.

In 1905, another work by the scientist was published, dedicated to the formation and transformation of light. In 1900, Max Planck had already proven that the spectral content of radiation can be explained by imagining the radiation to be continuous. According to him, the light was emitted in portions. Einstein put forward the theory that light is absorbed in parts and consists of quanta. Such an assumption allowed the scientist to explain the reality of the “red limit” (the limiting frequency below which electrons are not knocked out of the body).

The scientist also applied quantum theory to other phenomena that the classics could not consider in detail.

In 1921 he was awarded the title of Nobel laureate.

Theory of relativity

Despite the many articles written, the scientist gained worldwide fame thanks to his theory of relativity, which he first voiced in 1905 in a newsletter. Even in his youth, the scientist thought about what would appear before an observer who would follow the light wave at the speed of light. He did not accept the concept of ether.

Albert Einstein suggested that for any object, no matter how it moves, the speed of light is the same. The scientist's theory is comparable to Lorentz's formulas for converting time. However, Lorentz's transformations were indirect and had no connection with time.

Professorial activity

At 28, Einstein was extremely popular. In 1909 he became a professor at the Zurich Polytechnic and later at a university in the Czech Republic. After some time, he nevertheless returned to Zurich, but after 2 years he accepted an offer to become director of the Department of Physics in Berlin. Einstein's citizenship was restored. Work on the theory of relativity lasted for many years, and with the participation of Comrade Grossman, sketches of a draft theory were published. The final version was formulated in 1915. This was the greatest achievement in physics in decades.

Einstein was able to answer the question of what mechanism promotes gravitational interaction between objects. The scientist suggested that the structure of space could act as such an object. Albert Einstein thought that any body contributes to the curvature of space, making it different, and another body in relation to this one moves in the same space and is influenced by the first body.

The theory of relativity gave impetus to the development of other theories, which were later confirmed.

American period of the scientist's life

In America, he became a professor at Princeton University, continuing to develop a field theory that would unify gravity and electromagnetism.

At Princeton, Professor Einstein was a real celebrity. But the people saw him as a good-natured, modest, and strange person. His passion for music has not faded. He often performed in the physics ensemble. The scientist was also fond of sailing, saying that it helps to think about the problems of the Universe.

He was one of the main ideologists of the formation of the State of Israel. In addition, Einstein was invited to the post of president of this country, but he refused.

The main tragedy of the scientist’s life was the idea of ​​the atomic bomb. Observing the growing power of the German state, he sent a letter to the American Congress in 1939, which prompted the development and creation of weapons of mass destruction. Albert Einstein later regretted this, but it was already too late.

In 1955, in Princeton, the great naturalist died of an aortic aneurysm. But for a long time many will remember his quotes, which became truly great. He said that we must not lose faith in humanity, since we ourselves are people. The biography of the scientist is undoubtedly very fascinating, but it is the quotes he wrote that help to delve deeper into his life and work, which serve as a preface in the “book about the life of a great man.”

Some wisdom from Albert Einstein

At the heart of every challenge lies opportunity.

Logic can take you from point A to point B, and imagination can take you anywhere...

Outstanding personalities are formed not through beautiful speeches, but through their own work and its results.

If you live as if nothing in this world is a miracle, then you will be able to do whatever you want and you will have no obstacles. If you live as if everything is a miracle, then you will be able to enjoy even the smallest manifestations of beauty in this world. If you live both ways at the same time, your life will be happy and productive.

The world-famous scientist Albert Einstein was born in 1879 in southern Germany. His mother came from a noble family, but his father devoted his whole life to working in a factory where they stuffed mattresses. An interesting fact from his childhood is that he could not speak until he was 4 years old, but despite this, he was very curious and intelligent even at that time. Since childhood, he was very good at mathematics, he loved solving the most difficult tasks and successfully completed them.

At the age of 12, it was not difficult for him to study geometry and other sciences. It is worth noting that until some time parents believed that their child was not fully functional and had dementia. This opinion was formed as a result of the fact that Albert Einstein had a large head, which cast doubt on his abilities. In addition, at school he was very slow compared to other students, and the teachers really thought that Einstein was no good for anything.

The future scientist played the violin wonderfully and once gave a concert in the capital of Germany, and the proceeds went to support famous figures in Germany who emigrated during fascism.

In 1896 he entered the gymnasium, and, oddly enough, was not the best student. Studying was difficult for him, but he enjoyed studying Latin and mathematics. He was unable to finish high school because his family was forced to move to Pavia, where the Einsteins were from.

He dreamed of entering the Zurich Institute, but could not pass the French exam and went to the Aarauk school. There he becomes interested in physics, studies various theories and successfully receives a certificate.

After 5 years, he moved to Switzerland with his wife and received citizenship there. After some time, he gets a job as a teacher at a local university, where he brilliantly lectures to students. At this time, Einstein wrote several scientific papers, which were published in popular science magazines. The fame of the young scientist spreads throughout Europe.

In 1955, Einstein died and was buried in America.

7th grade for children

Biography of Einstein Albert about the main thing

Albert Einstein was born in the spring of 1879 in Germany. His parents were Jews. My father owned a factory where they made stuffing for feather beds. Then the boy's father began selling electrical equipment, and the whole family moved to Munich. Albert got a little sister there.

The child attended a Catholic school. Until the age of 12, the boy was very religious. He read a lot of scientific books, and thoughts came to him that what was narrated in the Bible could not really happen. Albert believed that the German authorities were deliberately misleading the people. The boy also played the violin. He loved music. When the scientist grew up, he even gave a charity concert.

Then the boy was sent to a gymnasium. There his favorite subjects were mathematics and Latin. The boy often argued with his teachers; he did not like their education system.

The family moved to Italy in 1894, but the boy remained in Germany because he needed to finish high school.

The young man went to Switzerland in 1895 to attend school. Of the three exams, he only passed mathematics, so he was not accepted. Albert entered his last year of school. The following year, the young man entered college. He made friends among his classmates. I also met a girl from the medical faculty, she later became the wife of a physicist.

The student's father went broke. Parents moved to Milan. The teaching style at the school was not the same as at school. The young physicist liked this. Albert had very good teachers.

The young man graduated from the Polytechnic in 1900. The teachers highly appreciated Albert's knowledge and abilities, but did not want to help him in his scientific activities.

The scientist could not find a permanent job for several years. He lived in poverty and starved. Sometimes he did not eat even for several days. Because of this, Albert suffered from liver disease. The young man, even in such difficult times, continued to study physics.

As a result, Albert's friend got him a job at the Bureau. The scientist served there for seven years.

Albert's father died in 1902. Three months later the physicist got married. The couple had three children.

Albert worked for a magazine dedicated to physics. In 1905 he published three articles, they were brilliant. Then Albert began to study the properties of ether. He created a formula that showed the relationship between mass and energy. Over the next years, the scientist created many theories.

Albert became very ill, he did not get out of bed, not only his liver, but also his stomach hurt, and then jaundice began. Despite this, he continued to work.

The physicist married a second time in 1919. His wife had two girls, the scientist adopted them. That same year, Albert's mother died. This period was very difficult in the life of the physicist. In the autumn of that year, Eddington's expedition proved the physicist's prediction. The scientist became famous throughout the world.

In 1922, the physicist received the Nobel Prize. Albert traveled a lot.

The scientist had a negative attitude towards Nazism. He left Germany and went to the USA. He criticized the use of nuclear weapons.

The great and talented physicist died in the spring of 1955.

Personal life

Interesting facts and dates from life

Biography

Albert Einstein (German: Albert Einstein, IPA [ˈalbɐt ˈaɪ̯nʃtaɪ̯n] (i); March 14, 1879, Ulm, Württemberg, Germany - April 18, 1955, Princeton, New Jersey, USA) - theoretical physicist, one of the founders of modern theoretical physics , winner of the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics, public figure and humanist. Lived in Germany (1879-1893, 1914-1933), Switzerland (1893-1914) and the USA (1933-1955). Honorary doctor of about 20 leading universities in the world, member of many Academies of Sciences, including foreign honorary member of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1926).

(1905).
Within its framework is the law of the relationship between mass and energy: E=mc^2.
General theory of relativity (1907-1916).
Quantum theory of the photoelectric effect.
Quantum theory of heat capacity.
Quantum statistics of Bose - Einstein.
Statistical theory of Brownian motion, which laid the foundations of the theory of fluctuations.
Theory of stimulated emission.
Theory of light scattering by thermodynamic fluctuations in a medium.

He also predicted "quantum teleportation" and predicted and measured the Einstein-de Haas gyromagnetic effect. Since 1933, he worked on problems of cosmology and unified field theory. He actively opposed war, against the use of nuclear weapons, for humanism, respect for human rights, and mutual understanding between peoples.

Einstein played a decisive role in popularizing and introducing new physical concepts and theories into scientific circulation. First of all, this relates to a revision of the understanding of the physical essence of space and time and to the construction of a new theory of gravity to replace the Newtonian one. Einstein also, together with Planck, laid the foundations of quantum theory. These concepts, repeatedly confirmed by experiments, form the foundation of modern physics.

Early years

Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879 in the southern German city of Ulm, into a poor Jewish family.

Father, Hermann Einstein (1847-1902), was at that time a co-owner of a small enterprise producing feather stuffing for mattresses and feather beds. Mother, Pauline Einstein (née Koch, 1858-1920), came from the family of wealthy corn merchant Julius Derzbacher (he changed his surname to Koch in 1842) and Yetta Bernheimer. In the summer of 1880, the family moved to Munich, where Hermann Einstein, together with his brother Jacob, founded a small company selling electrical equipment. Albert's younger sister Maria (Maya, 1881-1951) was born in Munich.

Primary education Albert Einstein received from a local Catholic school. According to his own recollections, as a child he experienced a state of deep religiosity, which ended at the age of 12. Through reading popular science books, he became convinced that much of what is stated in the Bible cannot be true, and the state is deliberately deceiving the younger generation. All this made him a freethinker and forever gave rise to a skeptical attitude towards authorities. Of his childhood experiences, Einstein later recalled as the most powerful: the compass, Euclid's Principia, and (around 1889) Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. In addition, on his mother’s initiative, he began playing the violin at the age of six. Einstein's passion for music continued throughout his life. Already in the USA in Princeton, in 1934 Albert Einstein gave a charity concert, where he performed Mozart’s works on the violin for the benefit of scientists and cultural figures who emigrated from Nazi Germany.

At the gymnasium (now the Albert Einstein Gymnasium in Munich) he was not among the first students (with the exception of mathematics and Latin). Albert Einstein disliked Albert Einstein's ingrained system of rote learning (which he later said was detrimental to the very spirit of learning and creative thinking), as well as the authoritarian attitude of teachers toward students, and he often got into arguments with his teachers.

In 1894, the Einsteins moved from Munich to the Italian city of Pavia, near Milan, where the brothers Hermann and Jacob moved their company. Albert himself remained with relatives in Munich for some more time to complete all six classes of the gymnasium. Having never received his matriculation certificate, he joined his family in Pavia in 1895.

In the fall of 1895, Albert Einstein arrived in Switzerland to take the entrance exams to the Higher Technical School (Polytechnic) in Zurich and upon graduation to become a physics teacher. Having shown himself brilliantly in the mathematics exam, he at the same time failed the exams in botany and French, which did not allow him to enter the Zurich Polytechnic. However, the director of the school advised the young man to enter the graduating class of a school in Aarau (Switzerland) in order to receive a certificate and repeat admission.

At the cantonal school of Aarau, Albert Einstein devoted his free time to studying Maxwell's electromagnetic theory. In September 1896, he successfully passed all the final exams at school, with the exception of the French language exam, and received a certificate, and in October 1896 he was admitted to the Polytechnic at the Faculty of Education. Here he became friends with a fellow student, mathematician Marcel Grossman (1878-1936), and also met a Serbian medical student, Mileva Maric (4 years older than him), who later became his wife. That same year, Einstein renounced his German citizenship. To obtain Swiss citizenship, he was required to pay 1,000 Swiss francs, but the family's poor financial situation allowed him to do this only after 5 years. This year, his father’s enterprise finally went bankrupt; Einstein’s parents moved to Milan, where Herman Einstein, already without his brother, opened a company selling electrical equipment.

The teaching style and methodology at the Polytechnic differed significantly from the ossified and authoritarian German school, so further education was easier for the young man. He had first-class teachers, including the wonderful geometer Hermann Minkowski (Einstein often missed his lectures, which he later sincerely regretted) and the analyst Adolf Hurwitz.

Beginning of scientific activity

In 1900, Einstein graduated from the Polytechnic with a diploma as a teacher of mathematics and physics. He passed the exams successfully, but not brilliantly. Many professors highly appreciated the student Einstein's abilities, but no one wanted to help him continue his scientific career. Einstein himself later recalled:

I was bullied by my professors, who did not like me because of my independence and closed my path to science.

Although the following year, 1901, Einstein received Swiss citizenship, he could not find a permanent job until the spring of 1902 - even as a school teacher. Due to lack of income, he literally starved, not eating for several days in a row. This became the cause of liver disease, from which the scientist suffered for the rest of his life.

Despite the hardships that plagued him in 1900-1902, Einstein found time to further study physics. In 1901, the Berlin Annals of Physics published his first article, “Consequences of the theory of capillarity” (Folgerungen aus den Capillaritätserscheinungen), devoted to the analysis of the forces of attraction between atoms of liquids based on the theory of capillarity.

Former classmate Marcel Grossman helped overcome the difficulties, recommending Einstein for the position of third-class expert at the Federal Patent Office for Inventions (Bern) with a salary of 3,500 francs per year (during his student years he lived on 100 francs per month).

Einstein worked at the Patent Office from July 1902 to October 1909, primarily assessing patent applications. In 1903 he became a permanent employee of the Bureau. The nature of the work allowed Einstein to devote his free time to research in the field of theoretical physics.

In October 1902, Einstein received news from Italy of his father's illness; Hermann Einstein died a few days after his son's arrival.

On January 6, 1903, Einstein married twenty-seven-year-old Mileva Maric. They had three children.

Since 1904, Einstein collaborated with Germany's leading physics journal, the Annals of Physics, providing abstracts of new papers on thermodynamics for its abstract supplement. Probably, the authority this acquired in the editorial office contributed to his own publications in 1905.

1905 - “Year of Miracles”

The year 1905 went down in the history of physics as the “Year of Miracles” (Latin: Annus Mirabilis). This year, the Annals of Physics published three outstanding papers by Einstein that marked the beginning of a new scientific revolution:

“Towards the electrodynamics of moving bodies” (German: Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter Körper). The theory of relativity begins with this article. “On a heuristic point of view concerning the origin and transformation of light” (German: Über einen die Erzeugung und Verwandlung des Lichts betreffenden heuristischen Gesichtspunkt). One of the works that laid the foundation for quantum theory. “On the motion of particles suspended in a fluid at rest, required by the molecular kinetic theory of heat” (German: Über die von der molekularkinetischen Theorie der Wärme geforderte Bewegung von in ruhenden Flüssigkeiten suspendierten Teilchen) - a work devoted to Brownian motion and which significantly advanced statistical physics. Einstein was often asked the question: how did he create the theory of relativity? Half jokingly, half seriously, he answered:

Why did I create the theory of relativity? When I ask myself this question, it seems to me that the reason is as follows. A normal adult does not think about the problem of space and time at all. In his opinion, he had already thought about this problem in childhood. I developed intellectually so slowly that space and time were occupied by my thoughts when I became an adult. Naturally, I could penetrate deeper into the problem than a child with normal inclinations.

Special theory of relativity

Throughout the 19th century, a hypothetical medium, the ether, was considered the material carrier of electromagnetic phenomena. However, by the beginning of the 20th century, it became clear that the properties of this medium are difficult to reconcile with classical physics. On the one hand, the aberration of light suggested the idea that the ether is absolutely motionless, on the other hand, Fizeau’s experiment testified in favor of the hypothesis that the ether is partially carried away by moving matter. Michelson's experiments (1881), however, showed that no “ethereal wind” exists.

In 1892, Lorentz and (independently) George Francis Fitzgerald suggested that the ether is motionless, and the length of any body contracts in the direction of its movement. However, the question remained open as to why the length was reduced in exactly the same proportion as to compensate for the “etheric wind” and prevent the existence of the ether from being discovered. At the same time, the question was studied under what coordinate transformations Maxwell's equations are invariant. The correct formulas were first written down by Larmore (1900) and Poincaré (1905), the latter proved their group properties and proposed calling them Lorentz transformations.

Poincaré also gave a generalized formulation of the principle of relativity, which also covered electrodynamics. Nevertheless, he continued to recognize the ether, although he was of the opinion that it would never be discovered. In a report at the physics congress (1900), Poincaré first expressed the idea that the simultaneity of events is not absolute, but represents a conditional agreement (“convention”). It was also suggested that the speed of light is limiting. Thus, at the beginning of the 20th century, there were two incompatible kinematics: classical, with Galilean transformations, and electromagnetic, with Lorentz transformations.

Einstein, thinking on these topics largely independently, suggested that the first is an approximate case of the second for low speeds, and that what was considered the properties of the ether is in fact a manifestation of the objective properties of space and time. Einstein came to the conclusion that it was absurd to invoke the concept of the ether only to prove the impossibility of observing it, and that the root of the problem lay not in dynamics, but deeper - in kinematics. In the above-mentioned seminal article “On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies,” he proposed two postulates: the universal principle of relativity and the constancy of the speed of light; from them one can easily derive the Lorentz contraction, Lorentz transformation formulas, the relativity of simultaneity, the uselessness of the ether, a new formula for adding velocities, the increase of inertia with speed, etc. In another of his articles, which was published at the end of the year, the formula E=mc^ appeared 2, defining the relationship between mass and energy.

Some scientists immediately accepted this theory, which later became known as the “special theory of relativity” (STR); Planck (1906) and Einstein himself (1907) built relativistic dynamics and thermodynamics. Einstein's former teacher, Minkowski, in 1907 presented a mathematical model of the kinematics of the theory of relativity in the form of the geometry of a four-dimensional non-Euclidean world and developed a theory of invariants of this world (the first results in this direction were published by Poincaré in 1905).

However, many scientists considered the “new physics” too revolutionary. She abolished the ether, absolute space and absolute time, revised Newtonian mechanics, which served as the basis of physics for 200 years and was invariably confirmed by observations. Time in the theory of relativity flows differently in different reference systems, inertia and length depend on speed, movement faster than light is impossible, the “twin paradox” arises - all these unusual consequences were unacceptable to the conservative part of the scientific community. The matter was also complicated by the fact that STR did not initially predict any new observable effects, and the experiments of Walter Kaufmann (1905-1909) were interpreted by many as a refutation of the cornerstone of SRT - the principle of relativity (this aspect was finally clarified in favor of SRT only in 1914-1916). Some physicists tried to develop alternative theories after 1905 (for example, Ritz in 1908), but later it became clear that these theories were irreparably inconsistent with experiment.

Many prominent physicists remained faithful to classical mechanics and the concept of the ether, among them Lorentz, J. J. Thomson, Lenard, Lodge, Nernst, Wien. At the same time, some of them (for example, Lorentz himself) did not reject the results of the special theory of relativity, but interpreted them in the spirit of Lorentz’s theory, preferring to look at the space-time concept of Einstein-Minkowski as a purely mathematical technique.

The decisive argument in favor of the truth of STR was the experiments to test the General Theory of Relativity (see below). Over time, experimental confirmation of the SRT itself gradually accumulated. Quantum field theory, the theory of accelerators are based on it, it is taken into account in the design and operation of satellite navigation systems (even corrections to the general theory of relativity were needed here), etc.

Quantum theory

To resolve the problem that went down in history as the “Ultraviolet catastrophe” and correspondingly reconcile theory with experiment, Max Planck suggested (1900) that the emission of light by a substance occurs discretely (indivisible portions), and the energy of the emitted portion depends on the frequency of the light. For some time, even its author himself considered this hypothesis as a conventional mathematical technique, but Einstein, in the second of the above-mentioned articles, proposed a far-reaching generalization of it and successfully applied it to explain the properties of the photoelectric effect. Einstein put forward the thesis that not only radiation, but also the propagation and absorption of light are discrete; Later these portions (quanta) were called photons. This thesis allowed him to explain two mysteries of the photoelectric effect: why the photocurrent did not arise at any frequency of light, but only starting from a certain threshold, depending only on the type of metal, and the energy and speed of the emitted electrons depended not on the intensity of the light, but only on its frequency. Einstein's theory of the photoelectric effect corresponded with experimental data with high accuracy, which was later confirmed by the experiments of Millikan (1916).

Initially, these views were met with misunderstanding by most physicists; even Planck and Einstein had to be convinced of the reality of quanta. Gradually, however, experimental data accumulated that convinced skeptics of the discrete nature of electromagnetic energy. The final point in the debate was the Compton effect (1923).

In 1907, Einstein published the quantum theory of heat capacity (the old theory at low temperatures was very inconsistent with experiment). Later (1912) Debye, Born and Karman refined Einstein's theory of heat capacity, and excellent agreement with experiment was achieved.

Brownian motion

In 1827, Robert Brown observed under a microscope and subsequently described the chaotic movement of flower pollen floating in water. Einstein, based on molecular theory, developed a statistical and mathematical model of such movement. Based on his diffusion model, it was possible, among other things, to estimate with good accuracy the size of molecules and their number per unit volume. At the same time, Smoluchowski, whose article was published several months later than Einstein, came to similar conclusions. Einstein presented his work on statistical mechanics, entitled “A New Determination of the Size of Molecules,” to the Polytechnic as a dissertation and in the same 1905 received the title of Doctor of Philosophy (equivalent to a candidate of natural sciences) in physics. The following year, Einstein developed his theory in a new article, “Toward the Theory of Brownian Motion,” and subsequently returned to this topic several times.

Soon (1908), Perrin's measurements completely confirmed the adequacy of Einstein's model, which became the first experimental proof of the molecular kinetic theory, which was subject to active attacks by positivists in those years.

Max Born wrote (1949): “I think that these studies of Einstein, more than all other works, convince physicists of the reality of atoms and molecules, of the validity of the theory of heat and the fundamental role of probability in the laws of nature.” Einstein's work on statistical physics is cited even more often than his work on relativity. The formula he derived for the diffusion coefficient and its relationship with the dispersion of coordinates turned out to be applicable in the most general class of problems: Markov diffusion processes, electrodynamics, etc.

Later, in the article “Toward the Quantum Theory of Radiation” (1917), Einstein, based on statistical considerations, first suggested the existence of a new type of radiation occurring under the influence of an external electromagnetic field (“induced radiation”). In the early 1950s, a method of amplifying light and radio waves based on the use of stimulated radiation was proposed, and in subsequent years it formed the basis of the theory of lasers.

Bern - Zurich - Prague - Zurich - Berlin (1905-1914)

The work of 1905 brought Einstein, although not immediately, worldwide fame. On April 30, 1905, he sent the text of his doctoral dissertation on the topic “A New Determination of the Size of Molecules” to the University of Zurich. The reviewers were Professors Kleiner and Burkhard. On January 15, 1906, he received his doctorate in physics. He corresponds and meets with the most famous physicists in the world, and Planck in Berlin includes the theory of relativity in his curriculum. In his letters he is called “Mr. Professor,” but for another four years (until October 1909) Einstein continued to serve in the Patent Office; in 1906 he was promoted (he became an expert of class II) and his salary was increased. In October 1908, Einstein was invited to read an elective course at the University of Bern, but without any payment. In 1909, he attended a congress of naturalists in Salzburg, where the elite of German physics gathered, and met Planck for the first time; Over the course of 3 years of correspondence, they quickly became close friends and maintained this friendship until the end of their lives.

After the congress, Einstein finally received a paid position as extraordinary professor at the University of Zurich (December 1909), where his old friend Marcel Grossmann taught geometry. The pay was small, especially for a family with two children, and in 1911 Einstein without hesitation accepted an invitation to head the department of physics at the German University in Prague. During this period, Einstein continued to publish a series of papers on thermodynamics, relativity and quantum theory. In Prague, he intensifies research on the theory of gravity, setting the goal of creating a relativistic theory of gravity and fulfilling the long-standing dream of physicists - to exclude Newtonian long-range action from this area.

In 1911, Einstein participated in the First Solvay Congress (Brussels), dedicated to quantum physics. There his only meeting took place with Poincaré, who continued to reject the theory of relativity, although he personally had great respect for Einstein.

A year later, Einstein returned to Zurich, where he became a professor at his native Polytechnic and lectured there on physics. In 1913, he attended the Congress of Naturalists in Vienna, visiting 75-year-old Ernst Mach there; Once upon a time, Mach's criticism of Newtonian mechanics made a huge impression on Einstein and ideologically prepared him for the innovations of the theory of relativity.

At the end of 1913, on the recommendation of Planck and Nernst, Einstein received an invitation to head the physics research institute being created in Berlin; He is also enrolled as a professor at the University of Berlin. In addition to being close to his friend Planck, this position had the advantage that it did not require him to be distracted by teaching. He accepted the invitation, and in the pre-war year 1914, the convinced pacifist Einstein arrived in Berlin. Mileva and her children remained in Zurich; their family broke up. In February 1919 they officially divorced.

Citizenship of Switzerland, a neutral country, helped Einstein withstand militaristic pressure after the outbreak of war. He did not sign any “patriotic” appeals; on the contrary, in collaboration with the physiologist Georg Friedrich Nicolai, he compiled the anti-war “Appeal to the Europeans” as a counterweight to the chauvinistic manifesto of the 1993s, and in a letter to Romain Rolland he wrote:

Will future generations thank our Europe, in which three centuries of the most intense cultural work only led to the fact that religious madness was replaced by nationalistic madness? Even scientists from different countries behave as if their brains were amputated.

General Relativity (1915)

Descartes also announced that all processes in the Universe are explained by the local interaction of one type of matter with another, and from the point of view of science, this thesis of short-range interaction was natural. However, Newton's theory of universal gravitation sharply contradicted the thesis of short-range action - in it, the force of attraction was transmitted incomprehensibly through completely empty space, and infinitely quickly. Essentially, Newton's model was purely mathematical, without any physical content. Over the course of two centuries, attempts were made to correct the situation and get rid of the mystical long-range action, to fill the theory of gravitation with real physical content - especially since after Maxwell, gravity remained the only refuge of long-range action in physics. The situation became especially unsatisfactory after the approval of the special theory of relativity, since Newton's theory was incompatible with Lorentz transformations. However, before Einstein, no one managed to correct the situation.

Einstein's main idea was simple: the material carrier of gravity is space itself (more precisely, space-time). The fact that gravity can be considered as a manifestation of the properties of the geometry of four-dimensional non-Euclidean space, without involving additional concepts, is a consequence of the fact that all bodies in the gravitational field receive the same acceleration (“Einstein’s principle of equivalence”). With this approach, four-dimensional space-time turns out to be not a “flat and indifferent stage” for material processes; it has physical attributes, and first of all, metric and curvature, which influence these processes and themselves depend on them. If the special theory of relativity is the theory of uncurved space, then the general theory of relativity, as conceived by Einstein, was supposed to consider a more general case, space-time with a variable metric (pseudo-Riemannian manifold). The reason for the curvature of space-time is the presence of matter, and the greater its energy, the stronger the curvature. Newton’s theory of gravitation is an approximation of the new theory, which is obtained if we take into account only the “curvature of time,” that is, the change in the time component of the metric (the space in this approximation is Euclidean). The propagation of gravitational disturbances, that is, changes in the metric during the movement of gravitating masses, occurs at a finite speed. From this moment on, long-range action disappears from physics.

The mathematical formulation of these ideas was quite labor-intensive and took several years (1907-1915). Einstein had to master tensor analysis and create its four-dimensional pseudo-Riemannian generalization; in this he was helped by consultations and joint work, first with Marcel Grossman, who became a co-author of Einstein’s first articles on the tensor theory of gravity, and then with the “king of mathematicians” of those years, David Hilbert. In 1915, the field equations of Einstein's general theory of relativity (GTR), generalizing Newton's, were published almost simultaneously in papers by Einstein and Hilbert.

The new theory of gravity predicted two previously unknown physical effects, fully confirmed by observations, and also accurately and completely explained the secular shift of Mercury's perihelion, which had long puzzled astronomers. After this, the theory of relativity became an almost universally accepted foundation of modern physics. In addition to astrophysics, general relativity has found practical application, as mentioned above, in global positioning systems (Global Positioning Systems, GPS), where coordinate calculations are made with very significant relativistic corrections.

Berlin (1915-1921)

In 1915, in a conversation with the Dutch physicist Vander de Haas, Einstein proposed a scheme and calculation of the experiment, which, after successful implementation, was called the “Einstein-de Haas effect.” The result of the experiment inspired Niels Bohr, who two years earlier had created a planetary model of the atom, since it confirmed that circular electron currents exist inside atoms, and electrons in their orbits do not emit. It was these provisions that Bohr based his model on. In addition, it was discovered that the total magnetic moment was twice as large as expected; the reason for this became clear when spin, the electron's own angular momentum, was discovered.

After the end of the war, Einstein continued to work in the previous areas of physics, and also worked on new areas - relativistic cosmology and the “Unified Field Theory”, which, according to his plan, was supposed to combine gravity, electromagnetism and (preferably) the theory of the microworld. The first paper on cosmology, "Cosmological Considerations on the General Theory of Relativity", appeared in 1917. After this, Einstein experienced a mysterious “invasion of diseases” - in addition to serious problems with the liver, a stomach ulcer was discovered, then jaundice and general weakness. He did not get out of bed for several months, but continued to work actively. Only in 1920 did the diseases recede.

In June 1919, Einstein married his maternal cousin Elsa Löwenthal (née Einstein) and adopted her two children. At the end of the year, his seriously ill mother Paulina moved in with them; she died in February 1920. Judging by the letters, Einstein took her death seriously.

In the autumn of 1919, the English expedition of Arthur Eddington, at the moment of an eclipse, recorded the deflection of light predicted by Einstein in the gravitational field of the Sun. Moreover, the measured value corresponded not to Newton’s, but to Einstein’s law of gravitation. The sensational news was reprinted in newspapers throughout Europe, although the essence of the new theory was most often presented in a shamelessly distorted form. Einstein's fame reached unprecedented heights.

In May 1920, Einstein, along with other members of the Berlin Academy of Sciences, was sworn in as a civil servant and legally considered a German citizen. However, he retained Swiss citizenship until the end of his life. In the 1920s, receiving invitations from everywhere, he traveled extensively throughout Europe (using a Swiss passport), giving lectures to scientists, students and the inquisitive public. He also visited the United States, where a special congratulatory resolution of Congress was adopted in honor of the eminent guest (1921). At the end of 1922, he visited India, where he had long contact with Tagore, and China. Einstein met the winter in Japan, where he was caught by the news that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize.

Nobel Prize (1922)

Einstein was repeatedly nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physics. The first such nomination (for the theory of relativity) took place, on the initiative of Wilhelm Ostwald, already in 1910, but the Nobel Committee considered the experimental evidence of the theory of relativity insufficient. Einstein's nomination was repeated every year thereafter, except in 1911 and 1915. Among the recommenders over the years were such prominent physicists as Lorentz, Planck, Bohr, Wien, Chwolson, de Haas, Laue, Zeeman, Kamerlingh Onnes, Hadamard, Eddington, Sommerfeld and Arrhenius.

However, members of the Nobel Committee for a long time did not dare to award the prize to the author of such revolutionary theories. In the end, a diplomatic solution was found: the 1921 prize was awarded to Einstein (in November 1922) for the theory of the photoelectric effect, that is, for the most indisputable and experimentally tested work; however, the text of the decision contained a neutral addition: “... and for other work in the field of theoretical physics.”

As I have already informed you by telegram, the Royal Academy of Sciences, at its meeting yesterday, decided to award you the Prize in Physics for the past year, thereby recognizing your work in theoretical physics, in particular the discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect, without taking into account your work on the theory of relativity and theories of gravity, which will be evaluated once they are confirmed in the future.

Since Einstein was away, the prize was accepted on his behalf on December 10, 1922 by Rudolf Nadolny, the German Ambassador to Sweden. Previously, he asked for confirmation whether Einstein was a citizen of Germany or Switzerland; The Prussian Academy of Sciences has officially certified that Einstein is a German subject, although his Swiss citizenship is also recognized as valid. Upon his return to Berlin, Einstein received the insignia accompanying the prize personally from the Swedish ambassador.

Naturally, Einstein dedicated his traditional Nobel speech (in July 1923) to the theory of relativity.

Berlin (1922-1933)

In 1923, completing his journey, Einstein spoke in Jerusalem, where it was planned to open the Hebrew University soon (1925).

In 1924, a young Indian physicist, Shatyendranath Bose, wrote to Einstein in a brief letter asking for help in publishing a paper in which he put forward the assumption that formed the basis of modern quantum statistics. Bose proposed to consider light as a gas of photons. Einstein came to the conclusion that the same statistics could be used for atoms and molecules in general. In 1925, Einstein published Bose's paper in a German translation, followed by his own paper in which he outlined a generalized Bose model applicable to systems of identical particles with integer spin called bosons. Based on this quantum statistics, now known as Bose-Einstein statistics, both physicists in the mid-1920s theoretically substantiated the existence of a fifth state of matter - the Bose-Einstein condensate.

The essence of the Bose-Einstein “condensate” is the transition of a large number of particles of an ideal Bose gas to a state with zero momentum at temperatures approaching absolute zero, when the de Broglie wavelength of the thermal motion of the particles and the average distance between these particles are reduced to the same order. Since 1995, when the first such condensate was obtained at the University of Colorado, scientists have practically proven the possibility of the existence of Bose-Einstein condensates made of hydrogen, lithium, sodium, rubidium and helium.

As a person of enormous and universal authority, Einstein was constantly involved in various kinds of political actions during these years, where he advocated social justice, internationalism and cooperation between countries (see below). In 1923, Einstein participated in the organization of the cultural relations society “Friends of the New Russia”. He repeatedly called for the disarmament and unification of Europe, and for the abolition of compulsory military service.

In 1928, Einstein saw off Lorentz, with whom he became very friendly in his last years, on his last journey. It was Lorentz who nominated Einstein for the Nobel Prize in 1920 and supported it the following year.

In 1929, the world noisily celebrated Einstein's 50th birthday. The hero of the day did not take part in the celebrations and hid in his villa near Potsdam, where he enthusiastically grew roses. Here he received friends - scientists, Tagore, Emmanuel Lasker, Charlie Chaplin and others.

In 1931, Einstein visited the USA again. In Pasadena he was very warmly received by Michelson, who had four months to live. Returning to Berlin in the summer, Einstein, in a speech to the Physical Society, paid tribute to the memory of the remarkable experimenter who laid the first stone of the foundation of the theory of relativity.

In addition to theoretical research, Einstein also owned several inventions, including:

very low voltage meter (together with Konrad Habicht);
a device that automatically determines exposure time when taking photographs;
original hearing aid;
silent refrigerator (shared with Szilard);
gyro-compass.

Until about 1926, Einstein worked in many areas of physics, from cosmological models to research into the causes of river meanders. Further, with rare exceptions, he focuses his efforts on quantum problems and the Unified Field Theory.

The establishment of Einstein's ideas (quantum theory and especially the theory of relativity) in the USSR was not easy. Some scientists, especially young scientists, perceived new ideas with interest and understanding; already in the 1920s, the first domestic works and textbooks on these topics appeared. However, there were physicists and philosophers who strongly opposed the concepts of the "new physics"; Among them, A.K. Timiryazev (son of the famous biologist K.A. Timiryazev), who criticized Einstein even before the revolution, was especially active. His articles in the magazines “Krasnaya Nov” (1921, No. 2) and “Under the Banner of Marxism” (1922, No. 4) were followed by Lenin’s critical remark:

If Timiryazev, in the first issue of the magazine, should have stipulated that the theory of Einstein, who himself, according to Timiryazev, does not lead any active campaign against the foundations of materialism, has already been seized upon by a huge mass of representatives of the bourgeois intelligentsia of all countries, then this applies not to Einstein alone, but to a number, if not most, of the great transformers of natural science since the end of the 19th century.

Also in 1922, Einstein was elected a foreign corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Nevertheless, during 1925-1926 Timiryazev published at least 10 anti-relativistic articles.

K. E. Tsiolkovsky also did not accept the theory of relativity, who rejected relativistic cosmology and the limitation on the speed of movement, which undermined Tsiolkovsky’s plans for populating space: “His second conclusion: the speed cannot exceed the speed of light... these are the same six days allegedly used to create peace." Nevertheless, towards the end of his life, Tsiolkovsky apparently softened his position, because at the turn of the 1920s and 1930s, in a number of works and interviews, he mentioned Einstein’s relativistic formula E=mc^2 without critical objections. However, Tsiolkovsky never came to terms with the impossibility of moving faster than light.

Although criticism of the theory of relativity among Soviet physicists ceased in the 1930s, the ideological struggle of a number of philosophers with the theory of relativity as “bourgeois obscurantism” continued and especially intensified after the removal of Nikolai Bukharin, whose influence had previously softened the ideological pressure on science. The next phase of the campaign began in 1950; it was probably connected with similar in spirit campaigns against genetics (Lysenkoism) and cybernetics of that time. Not long before (1948), the Gostekhizdat publishing house published a translation of the book “The Evolution of Physics” by Einstein and Infeld, equipped with an extensive preface entitled: “On ideological vices in the book “The Evolution of Physics” by A. Einstein and L. Infeld.” Two years later, the magazine “Soviet Book” published devastating criticism of both the book itself (for its “idealistic bias”) and the publishing house that published it (for its ideological mistake).

This article opened a whole avalanche of publications that were formally directed against Einstein’s philosophy, but at the same time they accused a number of major Soviet physicists of ideological mistakes - Ya. I. Frenkel, S. M. Rytov, L. I. Mandelstam and others. Soon, an article by M. M. Karpov, associate professor of the Department of Philosophy at Rostov State University, “On the Philosophical Views of Einstein” (1951) appeared in the journal “Questions of Philosophy,” where the scientist was accused of subjective idealism, disbelief in the infinity of the Universe and other concessions to religion. In 1952, an article by the prominent Soviet philosopher A. A. Maksimov was published, which condemned not only philosophy, but also Einstein personally, “for whom the bourgeois press created advertising for his numerous attacks on materialism, for promoting views that undermine the scientific worldview, emasculating ideologically science." Another prominent philosopher, I.V. Kuznetsov, during the 1952 campaign declared: “The interests of physical science urgently require deep criticism and decisive exposure of Einstein’s entire system of theoretical views.” However, the critical importance of the “atomic project” in those years, the authority and decisive position of the academic leadership prevented a defeat of Soviet physics similar to the one inflicted on geneticists. After Stalin's death, the anti-Einstein campaign was quickly curtailed, although a considerable number of “Einstein subverters” can still be found today.

Other myths

In 1962, a logic puzzle known as Einstein's Riddle was first published. This name was probably given to it for advertising purposes, because there is no evidence that Einstein had anything to do with this mystery. She is also not mentioned in any biography of Einstein.
A famous biography of Einstein states that in 1915, Einstein allegedly helped design a new model of military aircraft. This activity is difficult to reconcile with his pacifist beliefs. The investigation showed, however, that Einstein was simply discussing with a small aircraft company an idea in the field of aerodynamics - a catback wing (a hump on the top of the airfoil). The idea turned out to be unsuccessful and, as Einstein later put it, frivolous; however, a developed theory of flight did not yet exist.
Einstein is often mentioned among vegetarians. Although he supported the movement for many years, he only began following a strict vegetarian diet in 1954, about a year before his death.
There is an unsubstantiated legend that before his death, Einstein burned his last scientific papers, which contained a discovery that was potentially dangerous to humanity. This topic is often associated with the Philadelphia Experiment. The legend is often mentioned in various media; the film “The Last Equation” was based on it.

Family

Family tree of the Einstein family
Herman Einstein
Paulina Einstein (Koch)
Maya Einstein
Mileva Maric
Elsa Einstein
Hans Albert Einstein
Eduard Einstein
Lieserl Einstein
Bernard Sizer Einstein
Carl Einstein

Scientific activities

List of scientific publications by Albert Einstein
History of relativity
History of quantum mechanics
General theory of relativity
Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox
Equivalence principle
Einstein Agreement
Einstein's relation (molecular kinetic theory)
Special theory of relativity
Bose-Einstein statistics
Einstein's theory of heat capacity
Einstein's equations
Equivalence of mass and energy

Albert Einstein was born in 1879 in the city of Ulm, located in Germany. His father sold electrical equipment, his mother was a housewife. Later the family moved to Munich, where young Albert entered a Catholic school. Einstein continued his education at the Technical High School of Zurich, after which he was destined for a career as a school teacher of mathematics and physics.

For a long time, the future famous physicist could not find a teaching position, so he became a technical assistant at the Swiss patent office. When dealing with patents, the scientist could trace the connection between the achievements of contemporary science and technical innovations, which greatly expanded his scientific horizons. In his free time from work, Einstein dealt with issues directly related to physics.

In 1905, he managed to publish several important works that were devoted to Brownian motion, quantum theory and the theory of relativity. The great physicist was the first to introduce into science a formula that reflected the relationship between mass and energy. This relationship formed the basis of the principle of conservation of energy, established in relativism. All modern nuclear energy is based on Einstein's formula.

Einstein and his theory of relativity

Einstein formulated the foundations of the famous theory of relativity in 1917. His concept substantiated the principle of relativity and transferred it to systems that are capable of moving with acceleration along curved trajectories. General relativity became an expression of the connection between the space-time continuum and the distribution of mass. Einstein based his concept on the theory of gravity proposed by Newton.

The theory of relativity was a truly revolutionary concept for its time. Its recognition was helped by the facts observed by scientists that confirmed Einstein’s calculations. World-wide fame came to the scientist after a solar eclipse that took place in 1919, observations of which showed the validity of the conclusions of this brilliant theoretical physicist.

Albert Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1922 for his work in the field of theoretical physics. Later, he seriously studied issues of quantum physics and its statistical component. In the last years of his life, the physicist worked on the creation of a unified field theory, in which he intended to combine the principles of the theory of electromagnetic and gravitational interactions. But Einstein never managed to complete this work.