Albert Einstein - Biography

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• Einstein

• History of Physics

• Albert Einstein Quotes

Who Was Albert Einstein?

Albert Einstein, the most famous scientist

of the 20th century, revolutionized

scientific thought. Having developed the

Theory of Relativity, Einstein opened the

door for the creation of the atomic bomb.

Dates: March 14, 1879 -- April 18, 1955

Overview of Albert Einstein

In 1879, Albert Einstein was born in Ulm,

Germany to Jewish parents, Hermann

and Pauline Einstein. A year later,

Hermann Einstein's business failed and he moved his family to Munich to start a new

electric business with his brother Jakob. In Munich, Albert's sister Maja was born in 1881.

Only two years apart in age, Albert adored his sister and they had a close relationship

their whole lives.

Was Einstein Lazy?

Although Einstein is now considered the

epitome of genius, in the first two decades of

his life, many people thought Einstein was

the exact opposite. Right after Einstein was

born, relatives were concerned with

Einstein's pointy head. Then, when Einstein

didn't talk until he was three years old, his

parents worried something was wrong with

him. Einstein also failed to impress his

teachers. From elementary school through

college, his teachers and professors thought

him lazy, sloppy, and insubordinate. Many of

his teachers thought he would never amount

to anything.

Albert Einstein. Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

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What appeared to be laziness in class was

really boredom. Rather than just memorizing

facts and dates (the mainstay of classroom

work), Einstein preferred to ponder questions

such as what makes the needle of a compass point in one direction? Why is the sky blue?

What would it be like to travel at the speed of light?

Unfortunately for Einstein, these were not the types of topics he was taught in school.

Although his grades were excellent, Einstein found regular schooling to be strict and

oppressive. Things changed for Einstein when he befriended Max Talmud, the 21-year-old

medical student who ate dinner at the Einstein's once a week. Although Einstein was only

eleven years old, Max introduced Einstein to numerous science and philosophy books and

then discussed their content with him. Einstein flourished in this learning environment and

it wasn't long until Einstein had surpassed what Max could teach him.

Einstein Attends the Polytechnic

Institute

When Einstein was 15 years old, his father's

new business had failed and the Einstein

family moved to Italy. At first, Albert

remained behind in Germany to finish high

school, but he was soon unhappy with that

arrangement and left school to rejoin his

family.

Rather than finish high school, Einstein decided to apply directly to the prestigious

Polytechnic Institute in Zurich, Switzerland. Although he failed the entrance exam on the

first try, he then spent a year studying at a local high school and retook the entrance exam

in October 1896 and passed.

Once at the Polytechnic, Einstein again did not like school. Believing that his professors

only taught old science, Einstein would often skip class, preferring to stay home and read

about the newest in scientific theory. When he did attend class, Einstein would often make

it obvious that he found the class dull.

Some last minute studying allowed Einstein to graduate in 1900. However, once out of

school, Einstein was unable to find a job because none of his teachers liked him enough

to write him a recommendation letter. For nearly two years, Einstein worked at short-term

jobs until a friend was able to help him get a job as a patent clerk at the Swiss Patent

Office in Bern. Finally with a job and some stability, Einstein was able to marry his college

sweetheart, Mileva Maric, whom his parents strongly disapproved. The couple went on to

have two sons: Hans Albert (born 1904) and Eduard (born 1910).

Einstein the Patent Clerk

For seven years, Einstein worked six days a week as a patent clerk. He was responsible

for examining the blueprints of other people's inventions and then determining whether or

not they were feasible. If they were, Einstein had to ensure no one else had already been

given a patent for the same idea.

Somehow, between his very busy work and family life, Einstein not only found time to earn

a doctorate from the University of Zurich (awarded 1905), but found time to think. It was

while working at the patent office that Einstein made his most shocking and amazing

discoveries.

Einstein Changed How We View the World


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With just pen, paper, and his brain, Albert Einstein revolutionized science as we know it

today. In 1905, while working at the patent office, Einstein wrote five scientific papers,

which were all published in the Annalen der Physik (Annals of Physics, a major physics

journal). Three of these were published together in September 1905.

In one paper, Einstein theorized that light must not just travel in waves but existed as

particles, which explained the photoelectric effect. Einstein himself described this

particular theory as "revolutionary." This was also the theory for which Einstein won the

Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921.

In another paper, Einstein tackled the mystery of why pollen never settled to the bottom of

a glass of water, but rather, kept moving (Brownian motion). By declaring that the pollen

was being moved by water molecules, Einstein solved a longstanding, scientific mystery

as well as proved the existence of molecules.

His third paper described Einstein's "Special Theory of Relativity," in which Einstein

revealed that space and time are not absolutes. The only thing that is constant, Einstein

stated, is the speed of light; the rest of space and time are all based on the position of the

observer. For example, if a young boy were to roll a ball across the floor of a moving train,

how fast was the ball moving? To the boy, it might look like the ball was moving at 1 mile

per hour. However, to someone watching the train go by, the ball would appear to be

moving the one mile per hour plus the speed of the train (40 miles per hour). To someone

watching the event from space, the ball would be moving the one mile per hour the boy

had noticed, plus the 40 miles an hour of the speed of the train, plus the speed of the

earth.

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Albert Einstein - Biography