Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879 – April 18, 1955) is a German-born theoretical physicist who develops the theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics (alongside quantum mechanics).

His work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science.

He is best known to the general public for his mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2, which has been dubbed "the world's most famous equation".

He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect", a pivotal step in the development of quantum theory.

Near the beginning of his career, Einstein thinkd that Newtonian mechanics is no longer enough to reconcile the laws of classical mechanics with the laws of the electromagnetic field.

This leads him to develop his special theory of relativity during his time at the Swiss Patent Office in Bern (1902–1909).

However, he realizes that the principle of relativity can also be extended to gravitational fields, and he publishes a paper on general relativity in 1916 with his theory of gravitation.

He continues to deal with problems of statistical mechanics and quantum theory, which lead to his explanations of particle theory and the motion of molecules.

He also investigates the thermal properties of light, which lays the foundation of the photon theory of light.

In 1917, he applies the general theory of relativity to model the structure of the universe.

Except for one year in Prague, Einstein lives in Switzerland between 1895 and 1914, during which time he renounces his German citizenship in 1896, then receives his academic diploma from the Swiss federal polytechnic school (later the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule, ETH) in Zürich in 1900.

After being stateless for more than five years, he acquires Swiss citizenship in 1901, which he keeps for the rest of his life.

In 1905, he is awarded a PhD by the University of Zurich.

The same year, he publishes four groundbreaking papers during his renowned annus mirabilis (miracle year) which brings him to the notice of the academic world at the age of twenty-six.

Einstein teaches theoretical physics at Zurich between 1912 and 1914, before he leaves for Berlin, where he is elected to the Prussian Academy of Sciences.

In 1933, while Einstein is visiting the United States, Adolf Hitler comes to power.

Because of his Jewish background, Einstein does not return to Germany..

He settles in the United States and becomes an American citizen in 1940.

On the eve of the Second World War, he endorses a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt alerting him to the potential development of "extremely powerful bombs of a new type" and recommending that the U.S. begin similar research.

This eventually leads to the Manhattan Project.

Einstein supports the Allies, but he generally denounces the idea of using nuclear fission as a weapon.

He signs the Russell–Einstein Manifesto with British philosopher Bertrand Russell, which highlights the danger of nuclear weapons.

He is affiliated with the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, until his death in 1955.

Einstein publishes more than three hundred scientific papers and more than one hundred and fifty non-scientific works.

His intellectual achievements and originality have made the word "Einstein" synonymous with "genius".

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