Albert Einstein
- Born:
- 14 March 1879, Ulm, Württemberg, German Empire
- Died:
- 18 April 1955, Princeton, New Jersey, United States
- Nationality:
- German (1879–1896), Swiss (1901–1955), Austro-Hungarian (1911–1912), American (1940–1955)
- Profession(s):
- Theoretical Physicist
Early Life and Education
- Born to Hermann and Pauline Einstein.
- Initially slow to speak, concerning his parents.
- Received early education in Munich, Germany.
- Renounced German citizenship in 1896.
- Graduated from the Swiss Federal Polytechnic in Zurich in 1900.
Career and Major Achievements
- Worked at the Swiss Patent Office in Bern (1902-1909).
- Published four groundbreaking papers in 1905, known as the "Annus Mirabilis papers". These papers covered:
- Photoelectric effect
- Brownian motion
- Special relativity
- Mass-energy equivalence (E=mc²)
- Professor at the University of Zurich (1909), the German University in Prague (1911), and ETH Zurich (1912).
- Developed the general theory of relativity (1915), revolutionizing our understanding of gravity.
- Director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics (1914-1933).
- Nobel Prize in Physics (1921) for his explanation of the photoelectric effect.
- Emigrated to the United States in 1933, fearing Nazi persecution.
- Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey (1933-1955).
- Wrote a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939, warning of the potential for Nazi Germany to develop atomic weapons.
Notable Works
- "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies" (1905) - Special relativity.
- "Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?" (1905) - Mass-energy equivalence.
- "Relativity: The Special and the General Theory" (1916) - Popular explanation of relativity.
- "The Meaning of Relativity" (1922)
Legacy and Impact
Albert Einstein is widely regarded as one of the most influential scientists of the 20th century and one of the greatest physicists of all time. His theories of relativity revolutionized our understanding of space, time, gravity, and the universe. His work has had a profound impact on science, technology, and society. Understanding 'choi soo jong biography of albert einstein' or any exploration of Einstein's life reinforces the importance of scientific curiosity and its impact on the world.