Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein

Of all the scientists to emerge from the nineteenth andtwentieth centuries there is one whose name is known by almost all living people. While mostof these do not understand this man's work, everyone knows that its impact on theworld of science is astonishing. Yes, many have heard of Albert Einstein's General Theory ofrelativity, but few know about the intriguing life that led this scientist to discover whatsome have called, "The greatest single achievement of human thought." Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany on March 14, 1874. Beforehis first birthday, his family had moved to Munich where young Albert's father, HermannEinstein, and uncle set up a small electro-chemical business. He was fortunate to havean excellent family with which he held a strong relationship. Albert's mother, PaulineEinstein, had an intense passion for music and literature, and it was she that first introducedher son to the violin in which he found much joy and relaxation. Also, he was very close withhis younger sister, Maja, and they could often be found in the lakes that were scatteredabout the countryside near Munich. As a child, Einstein's sense of curiosity had already begunto stir. A favorite toy of his was his father's compass, and he often marvelled at his uncle'sexplanations of algebra. Although young Albert was intrigued by certain mysteries of science,he was considered a slow learner. His failure to become fluent in German until theage of nine even led some teachers to believe he was disabled. Einstein's post-basic education began at the LuitpoldGymnasium when he was ten. It was here that he first encountered the German spirit throughthe school's strict disciplinary policy. His disapproval of this method of teaching led tohis reputation as a rebel. It was probably these differences that caused Einstein to searchfor knowledge at home. He began not with science, but with religion. He avidly studied theBible seeking truth, but this religious fervor soon died down when he discovered theintrigue of science and math. To him, these seemed much more realistic than ancient stories.With this new knowledge he disliked class even more, and was eventually expelled fromLuitpold Gymnasium being considered a disruptive influence. Feeling that he could no longer deal with the Germanmentality, Einstein moved to Switzerland where he continued his education. At sixteen heattempted to enroll at the Federal Institute of Technology but failed the entranceexam. This forced him to study locally for one year until he finally passed the school'sevaluation. The Institute allowed Einstein to meet many other students that shared hiscuriosity, and It was here that his studies turned mainly to Physics. He quickly learned thatwhile physicists had generally agreed on major principals in the past, there were modernscientists who were attempting to disprove outdated theories. Since most of Einstein'steachers ignored these new ideas, he was again forced to explore on his own. In 1900 hegraduated from the Institute and then achieved citizenship to Switzerland. Einstein became a clerk at the Swiss Patent Office in 1902.This job had little to do with physics, but he was able to satiate his curiosity byfiguring out how new inventions worked. The most important part of Einstein's occupation was thatit allowed him enough time to pursue his own line of research. As his ideas began todevelop, he published them in specialist journals. Though he was still unknown to thescientific world, he began to attract a large circle of friends and admirers. A group of studentsthat he tutored quickly transformed into a social club that shared a love of nature, music, andof course, science. In 1903 he married Mileva Meric, a mathematician friend. In 1905, Einstein published five separate papers in ajournal, the Annals of Physics. The first was immediately acknowledged, and the University ofZurich awarded Einstein an additional degree. The other papers helped to developmodern physics and earned him the reputation of an artist. Many scientists have said thatEinstein's work contained an imaginative spirit that was seen in most poetry. His workat this time dealt with molecules, and how their motion affected temperature, but he is mostwell known for his Special Theory of Relativity which tackled motion and the speed oflight. Perhaps the most important part of his discoveries was the equation: E= mc2. After publishing these theories Einstein was promoted athis office. He remained at the Patents Office for another two years, but his name wasbecoming too big among the scientific community. In 1908, Einstein began teachingparty time at the University of Berne, and the following year, at the age of thirty, he becameemployed full time by Zurich University. Einstein was now able to move to Prague withhis wife and two sons, Hans Albert and Eduard. Finally, after being promoted to aprofessor, Einstein and his family were able to enjoy a good standard of living, but the job'smain advantage was that it allowed Einstein to access an enormous library. It was herethat he extended his theory and discussed it with the leading scientists of Europe. In 1912he chose to accept a job placing him in high authority at the Federal Institute ofTechnology, where he had originally studied. It was not until 1914 that Einstein was tempted to returnto Germany to become research director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics. World War I had a strong effect on Einstein. While the restof Germany supported the army, he felt the war was unnecessary, and disgusting. Thenew weapons of war which attempted to mass slaughter people caused him to devotemuch of his life toward creating peace. Toward the end of the war Einstein joined apolitical party that worked to end the war, and return peace to Europe. In 1916 this party wasoutlawed by the government, and Einstein was seen as a traitor. In that same year, Einstein published his General Theory ofrelativity, This result of ten years work revolutionized physics. It basically stated that theuniverse had to be thought of as curved, and told how light was affected by this. The nextyear, Einstein published another paper that added that the universe had no boundary, butactually twisted back on its self. After the war, many aspects of Einstein's life changed. Hedivorced his wife, who had been living in Zurich with the children throughout the war, andmarried his cousin Elsa Lowenthal. This led to a renewed interest in his Jewish roots, and hebecame an active supporter of Zionism. Since anti-Semitism was growing in Germany, hequickly became the target of prejudice. There were many rumors about groups who weretrying to kill Einstein, and he began to travel extensively. The biggest change, though,was in 1919 when scientist who studied an eclipse confirmed that his theories were correct. In 1921, he traveled through Britain and the United Statesraising funds for Zionism and lecturing about his theories. He also visited the battlesites of the war, and urged that Europe renew scientific and cultural links. He promotednon-patriotic, non-competitive education, believing that it would prevent war fromhappening in the future. He also believed that socialism would help the world achieve peace. Einstein received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1922. Hegave all the money to his ex-wife and children to help with their lives and education. Afteranother lecture tour, he visited Palestine for the opening the Hebrew University inJerusalem. He also talked about the possibilities that Palestine held for the Jewish people.Upon his return he began to enjoy a calmer life in which he returned to his original curiosity,religion. While Einstein was visiting America in 1933 the Nazi partycame to power in Germany. Again he was subject to anti-Semitic attacks, but this timehis house was broken into, and he was publicly considered an enemy of the nation. It wasobvious that he could not return to Germany, and for the second time he renounced his Germancitizenship. During these early years in America he did some research at Princeton,but did not accomplish much of significance. In 1939 the second World War began to take form. There washeated argument during this time over whether the United States should explore the ideaof an atomic bomb. Einstein wrote to President Roosevelt warning him of the disasterthat could occur if the Nazi's developed it first. Einstein did not participate in thedevelopment of the bomb, but the idea did stem from his equation E=mc2. Just as he knew that thebomb was under development, he also knew when it was going to be used. Just before thebomb was dropped on Japan Einstein wrote a letter to the President begging him not touse this terrible weapon. The rest of Einstein's life was dedicated to promotingpeace. After the war ended, he declared, "The war is won, but the peace is not." He wrotemany articles and made many speeches calling for a world government. His fame, at thispoint, was legendary. People from all over would write to him for advice, and he wouldoften answer them. He also continued his scientific research until the day he died.This was on April 18, 1955. There is no doubt that he was dissatisfied that he never was able tofind the true meaning of existence that he strove for all his life.