Albert Einstein's Major Accomplishments
The most influential figure of the 20th century is Albert Einstein. He did so much to define our understanding of the natural world and gave science the formulas and knowledge to control so many aspects of our modern lives. He predicted atoms before they were discovered. He was the first to postulate a particle of light. This first paper of 1905 described the photoelectric effect and predicted photons. This allowed the invention of television, digital cameras, and remote controls. This work allowed others the mechanical understanding of the universe to develop many of the advanced electronic inventions of the 20th century. Without his explanation of the quantum effect, we would be without cellular phones, smoke detectors, automatic doors,
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Three of these papers were considered groundbreaking. One was on the motion of particles in liquid and the mathematical formula he had developed to explain that the motion came from the invisible motion of molecules in the liquid. The second paper was on the photoelectric effect. He used the new ideas of Max Planck to explain the release of electrons from metal when light shines on it in terms of packets of energy, or quanta. The third and most famous paper was Einstein’s special theory of relativity. In this paper, he concluded that time is not constant and neither is weight or mass. In 1915, he corrected problems with his special theory involving gravity by writing the general theory of relativity. Time curved was what he was saying and he suggested a way this could be proven. The opportunity for the proof appeared in 1919 resulting in the acceptance of Einstein’s general theory of relativity. In his later years, he searched for one basic equation to explain all the forces of nature. The majority of physicists had put aside the possibility that there could be one unified theory to explain the forces of gravity, electromagnetism, the strong nuclear force and the weak nuclear force. String theory has provided a new possibility for a unified understanding of the basic laws of the physical universe. All the advancements leading up to this new understanding of the world could not have happened without
Three of these papers were considered groundbreaking. One was on the motion of particles in liquid and the mathematical formula he had developed to explain that the motion came from the invisible motion of molecules in the liquid. The second paper was on the photoelectric effect. He used the new ideas of Max Planck to explain the release of electrons from metal when light shines on it in terms of packets of energy, or quanta. The third and most famous paper was Einstein’s special theory of relativity. In this paper, he concluded that time is not constant and neither is weight or mass. In 1915, he corrected problems with his special theory involving gravity by writing the general theory of relativity. Time curved was what he was saying and he suggested a way this could be proven. The opportunity for the proof appeared in 1919 resulting in the acceptance of Einstein’s general theory of relativity. In his later years, he searched for one basic equation to explain all the forces of nature. The majority of physicists had put aside the possibility that there could be one unified theory to explain the forces of gravity, electromagnetism, the strong nuclear force and the weak nuclear force. String theory has provided a new possibility for a unified understanding of the basic laws of the physical universe. All the advancements leading up to this new understanding of the world could not have happened without