Albert Einstein
- Born:
- 14 March 1879, Ulm, Württemberg, German Empire
- Died:
- 18 April 1955, Princeton, New Jersey, United States
- Nationality:
- German (1879–1896), Stateless (1896–1901), Swiss (1901–1955), German (1914–1918), American (1940–1955)
- Profession(s):
- Theoretical Physicist
Early Life and Education
- Received early education in Munich, Germany.
- Renounced German citizenship in 1896.
- Graduated from the Swiss Federal Polytechnic in Zurich in 1900.
- Obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Zurich in 1905.
Career and Major Achievements
- Worked as a patent clerk in Bern, Switzerland, from 1902 to 1909.
- Published groundbreaking papers in 1905, known as the "Annus Mirabilis" papers.
- Developed the theory of relativity (special and general).
- Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for his explanation of the photoelectric effect.
- Became a professor at the German University in Prague in 1911.
- Served as director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics in Berlin.
- Emigrated to the United States in 1933 and joined the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.
- Wrote a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939, alerting him to the potential of nuclear weapons, which influenced the establishment of the Manhattan Project.
Notable Works
- "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies" (1905) - Introduction of special relativity.
- "Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?" (1905) - Formulation of the mass-energy equivalence (E=mc²).
- "Investigations on the Theory of the Brownian Movement" (1905).
- "The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity" (1916).
- "Relativity: The Special and the General Theory" (1916) - A popular exposition of the theory of relativity.
Legacy and Impact
Albert Einstein's contributions revolutionized physics and our understanding of the universe. His theories continue to influence scientific research and technological advancements.
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