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albert einstein was queer | |||
{{Redirect|Einstein}} | |||
] in 1948.]] | |||
'''Albert Einstein''' ({{audio|Albert_Einstein.ogg|German pronunciation}}) (], ] – ], ]) was a ] widely regarded as the most important ] of the 20th century. He developed the ] and ] and made significant contributions to ], ], and ]. He was awarded the 1921 ] for his explanation of the ] in 1905 (his "]") and "for his services to Theoretical Physics". | |||
After British ] expeditions in 1919 confirmed that ] from distant ]s were deflected by the ] of the ] in the amount he had predicted in his theory of relativity, Einstein became world-famous, an unusual achievement for a scientist. In his later years, his fame perhaps exceeded that of any other scientist in ]. In ], his name has become synonymous with great ] and ]. | |||
==Biography== | |||
===Youth and college=== | |||
] to ].]] | |||
Einstein was born on ], ] in the city of ] in ], ], about 100 km east of ]. His parents were Hermann Einstein, a salesman who later ran an ] works, and Pauline, ''née'' Koch. They were married in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt. The family was ]ish (non-observant); Albert attended a ] and, at the insistence of his mother, was given ] lessons. Though he initially disliked the lessons, and eventually discontinued them, he would later take great solace in ]'s ]s. | |||
When Einstein was five, his father showed him a pocket ], and Einstein realized that something in "empty" space acted upon the needle; he would later describe the experience as one of the most revelatory of his life. He built ] and ] for fun and showed great mathematical ability early on. | |||
In 1889, a medical student named Max Talmud (later: Talmey) introduced Einstein to key science and ] texts, including ] '']''. Two of his uncles would further foster his intellectual interests during his late childhood and early adolescence by recommending and providing books on science, mathematics and philosophy. | |||
Einstein attended the ], where he received a relatively progressive education. He began to learn ] around age twelve; in 1891, he taught himself ] from a school booklet and began to study ]. While at the Gymnasium, he clashed with authority and resented the school regimen, believing that the spirit of learning and creative thought were lost in such endeavors as strict ]. | |||
In 1894, following the failure of Hermann Einstein's electrochemical business, the Einsteins moved from ] to ], a city in ] near ]. Einstein's first scientific work, called "''The Investigation of the State of ] in ]''", was written contemporaneously. Albert remained behind in Munich lodgings to finish school, completing only one term before leaving the ] in the spring of 1895 to rejoin his family in Pavia. He quit a year and a half prior to final examinations without telling his parents, convincing the school to let him go with a medical note from a friendly doctor, but this meant that he had no ] certificate.<ref>Highfield.</ref> That year, at the age of 16, he performed the ] known as "Albert Einstein's mirror". After gazing into a mirror, he examined what would happen to his image if he were moving at the ]; his conclusion, that the speed of light is independent of the observer, would later become one of the two ]. | |||
Although he excelled in the mathematics and science portion of the '']'' (ETH, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, in ]) entrance exam the following year, his failure of the liberal arts portion was a setback; his family sent him to ], ] to finish secondary school, and it became clear that he was not going to be an ] as his father intended for him. There, he studied the seldom-taught ] ] and received his diploma in September 1896. During this time, he lodged with Professor Jost Winteler's family and became enamoured with Marie, their daughter and his first sweetheart. Einstein's sister, Maja, who was perhaps his closest confidant, was to later marry their son, Paul, and his friend, ], married their other daughter, Anna.<ref>Ibid.</ref> Einstein subsequently enrolled at the ''Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule'' in October and moved to Zürich, while Marie moved to ] for a teaching post. The same year, he renounced his ] citizenship and became ]. | |||
In the spring of 1896, the ]n ] started initially as a medical student at the ], but after a term switched to the same section as Einstein as the only woman that year to study for the same diploma. Einstein's relationship with Marić developed into romance over the next few years, which Einstein's family opposed based on the fact that she was not Jewish, older, and physically "defective."<ref></ref> | |||
In 1900, Einstein was granted a teaching diploma by the ''Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule'' (]). Einstein then wrote his first published paper, on the ] of a drinking straw, titled "''Folgerungen aus den Capillaritätserscheinungen''", which translated is "''Consequences of the observations of capillarity phenomena''" (found in "''Annalen der Physik''" volume 4, page 513). In it, he tried to unify the ], an attempt he would continually make throughout his life. Through his friend Michelle Besso, an ], Einstein was presented with the works of ], and would later consider him "the best sounding board in Europe" for physical ideas. During this time, Einstein discussed his scientific interests with a group of close friends, including Besso and Marić. The men referred to themselves as the "Olympia Academy". Einstein and Marić had a daughter out of wedlock, ], born in January 1902. Her fate is unknown; some believe she died in infancy, while others believe she was given out for adoption. | |||
===Work and doctorate=== | |||
]''"]] | |||
Upon graduation, Einstein could not find a teaching post, mostly because his brashness as a young man had apparently irritated most of his professors. The father of a classmate helped him obtain employment as a technical assistant ] at the Swiss Patent Office<ref>{{cite web | title=The institute / IPI / Federal Institute of Intellectual Property | url=http://www.ipi.ch/E/institut/i1.shtm | accessdate=November 21 | accessyear=2005 }}</ref> in 1902. There, Einstein judged the worth of ]s' ] applications for devices that required a knowledge of physics to understand — in particular he was chiefly charged to evaluate ] relating to electromagnetic devices.<ref>Galison p. 368.</ref> He also learned how to discern the essence of applications despite sometimes poor descriptions, and was taught by the director how "to express self correctly". He occasionally rectified their design errors while evaluating the practicality of their work. | |||
Einstein married ] on ], ]. Einstein's marriage to Marić, who was a mathematician, was both a personal and intellectual partnership: Einstein referred to Mileva as "a creature who is my equal and who is as strong and independent as I am". ], a biographer of Einstein, claimed that Einstein depended on the distance that existed in his and Mileva's marriage in order to have the solitude necessary to accomplish his work; he required intellectual isolation. ], a Soviet physicist who knew Einstein, in an obituary of Einstein, wrote, "The author of was ... a bureaucrat at the Patent Office in Bern, Einstein-Marić" and this has recently been taken as evidence of a collaborative relationship. However, according to Alberto A. Martínez of the Center for Einstein Studies at ], Joffe only ascribed authorship to Einstein, as he believed that it was a Swiss custom at the time to append the spouse's last name to the husband's name.<ref>{{cite web | title=Arguing about Einstein's wife (April 2004) - Physics World - PhysicsWeb (See above) | url=http://physicsweb.org/articles/world/17/4/2 | accessdate=November 21 | accessyear=2005 }}</ref> Whatever the truth, the extent of her influence on Einstein's work is a highly controversial and debated question. | |||
In 1903, Einstein's position at the ] had been made permanent, though he was passed over for promotion until he had "fully mastered machine technology".<ref>Galison p. 370.</ref> He obtained his ] after submitting his thesis "''A new determination of molecular dimensions''" ("''Eine neue Bestimmung der Moleküldimensionen''") in 1905. | |||
That same year, in his spare time, he wrote four articles that participated in the foundation of modern physics, without much ] to which he could refer or many scientific colleagues with whom he could discuss the theories. Most physicists agree that three of those papers (on ], the ], and ]) deserved ]s. Only the paper on the photoelectric effect would be mentioned by the Nobel committee in the award. This is ironic, not only because Einstein is far better-known for relativity, but also because the photoelectric effect is a quantum phenomenon, and Einstein became somewhat disenchanted with the path ] would take. | |||
] presents Einstein with the Max-Planck medal, Berlin June 28, 1929]] | |||
====Annus Mirabilis Papers==== | |||
{{details|Annus Mirabilis Papers}} | |||
Einstein submitted this series of papers to the "''Annalen der Physik''". They are commonly referred to as the "'']''" (from ], ] for 'year of wonders'). The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (]) commemorated the 100th year of the publication of Einstein's extensive work in 1905 as the ']'. | |||
The first paper, named "''On a Heuristic Viewpoint Concerning the Production and Transformation of Light''", ("''Über einen die Erzeugung und Verwandlung des Lichtes betreffenden heuristischen Gesichtspunkt''") proposed that "energy quanta" (which are essentially what we now call ]s) were real, and showed how they could be used to explain such phenomena as the ]. This paper was specifically cited for his Nobel Prize. ] had made the formal assumption that energy was quantized in deriving his black-body radiation law, published in 1901, but had considered this to be no more than a mathematical trick. The photoelectric effect thus provided a simple confirmation of Max Planck's hypothesis of quanta. | |||
His second article in 1905, named "''On the Motion—Required by the Molecular Kinetic Theory of Heat—of Small Particles Suspended in a Stationary Liquid''", ("'']''") covered his study of ], and provided empirical evidence for the existence of atoms. Before this paper, ]s were recognized as a useful concept, but ]s and ]s hotly debated whether atoms were real entities. Einstein's statistical discussion of atomic behavior gave ]s a way to count atoms by looking through an ordinary ]. ], one of the leaders of the anti-atom school, later told ] that he had been converted to a belief in atoms by Einstein's complete explanation of Brownian motion.<ref>] worked on Brownian motion at the same time as Einstein. He published in 1906 the same formula as Einstein (arrived at by a different method), except for a mistaken factor. See {{cite web | title=Paul Langevin’s 1908 paper ‘‘On the Theory of Brownian Motion’’ | url=http://www.physik.uni-augsburg.de/theo1/hanggi/History/Langevin1908.pdf | accessdate=March 17 | accessyear=2006 }} for details.</ref> | |||
Einstein's third paper that year, "''On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies''" ("''Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter Körper''"), was published in September 1905. This paper introduced the ], a theory of time, distance, mass and energy which was consistent with ], but omitted the force of ]. While developing this paper, Einstein wrote to Mileva about "our work on relative motion", and this has led some to ask whether Mileva played a part in its development. A few historians of science believe that Einstein and his wife were both aware that the famous Frenchman ] had already published the equations of Relativity, a few weeks before Einstein submitted his paper; most believe their work was independent, especially given Einstein's isolation at this time. Similarly, it's debatable if he knew the 1904 paper of Lorentz which contained most of the theory and to which Poincaré referred. See also ]. | |||
In a fourth paper, "''Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?''", ("''Ist die Trägheit eines Körpers von seinem Energieinhalt abhängig?''"), published late in 1905, he showed that from relativity's ]s, it is possible to deduce the famous equation which shows the equivalence between matter and energy. The ] equivalence (''E'') of some amount of mass (''m'') is that mass times the speed of light (''c'') squared: '']''. | |||
===Middle years=== | |||
].]] | |||
In 1906, Einstein was promoted to technical examiner second class. In 1908, Einstein was licensed in ], Switzerland, as a ] (unsalaried teacher at a university). During this time, Einstein described why the sky is blue in his paper on the phenomenon of ], which shows the cumulative effect of ] of light by individual molecules in the atmosphere.<ref></ref> In 1911, Einstein became first associate ] at the ], and shortly afterwards full professor at the (German) ], only to return the following year to ] in order to become full professor at the ]. At that time, he worked closely with the ] ]. In 1912, Einstein started to refer to ] as the ] (although ] had done this earlier, in 1895 in '']''). | |||
In 1914, just before the start of ], Einstein settled in ] as professor at the local ] and became a member of the ]. He took ]n citizenship. From 1914 to 1933, he served as director of the ] for Physics in Berlin. He also held the position of ] at the ] from 1920 until 1946, where he regularly gave guest lectures. | |||
In 1917, Einstein published "''On the Quantum Mechanics of Radiation''" ("''Zur Quantenmechanik der Strahlung''", Physkalische Zeitschrift 18, 121-128). This article introduced the concept of ], the physical principle that allows light amplification in the ]. He also published a paper that year that used the general theory of relativity to model the behavior of the entire universe, setting the stage for modern ]. In this work he created his self-described "worst blunder", the ]. | |||
On ], ], Albert and Mileva's first son, ], was born. Their second son, ], was born on ], ]. Hans Albert became a professor of ] at the ], having little interaction with his father, but sharing his love for sailing and music. Eduard, the younger brother, intended to practice as a ] but was institutionalized for ] and died in an asylum. Einstein divorced Mileva on ], ], and married his cousin ] (born Einstein: Löwenthal was the surname of her first husband, Max) on ], ]. Elsa was Albert's first cousin (maternally) and his second cousin (paternally). She was three years older than Albert, and had nursed him to health after he had suffered a partial nervous breakdown combined with a severe stomach ailment; there were no children from this marriage.]'' on ] ].]] | |||
====General relativity==== | |||
In November 1915, Einstein presented a series of lectures before the Prussian Academy of Sciences in which he described his theory of ], known as ]. The final lecture ended with his introduction of an equation that replaced ], the Field Equation.<ref>] actually published the field equation in an article that was dated five days before Einstein's lecture. But according to Thorne (pp. 117–118), Hilbert had discovered the correct derivation after "mulling over things he had learned" on a recent visit by Einstein to Gottingen. Thorne goes on to say "Quite naturally, and in accord with Hilbert's view of things, the resulting law of warpage was quickly given the name the ''Einstein field equation'' rather than being named after Hilbert. .... In fact without Einstein the general relativistic laws of gravity might not have been discovered until several decades later." See ] for more details.</ref> This theory considered all observers to be equivalent, not only those moving at a uniform speed. In general relativity, gravity is no longer a force (as it is in Newton's law of gravity) but is a consequence of the curvature of ]. | |||
During a ] in 1919, ] supervised measurements of the ] of star light as it passed close to the Sun. This effect is called ] and amounts to twice the Newtonian prediction. The observations were carried out in ], ], as well as on the island of ], at the west coast of ]. Eddington announced that the results confirmed Einstein's prediction and '']'' reported that confirmation on ] of that year, thus cementing Einstein's fame. | |||
Many scientists, in Germany in particular, were still unconvinced for various reasons ranging from disagreement with Einstein's interpretation of the experiments, to a belief that an absolute frame of reference was necessary. In Einstein's view, most of the objections were from experimentalists with very little understanding of the theory involved.<ref>See esp. Albert Einstein, "My Reply. On the Anti-Relativity Theoretical Co., Ltd. ]'' anti-Einsteinian movement, in the Introduction to Klaus Hentschel, ed. ''Physics and National Socialism: An anthology of primary sources'' (Basel: Birkhaeuser, 1996), on p.lxxi.</ref> | |||
On ], ], Einstein went to ] to give a lecture on his new Theory of Relativity, the same year he was awarded the Nobel Prize. Though he is now most famous for his work on relativity, it was for his earlier work on the ] that he was given the Prize, as his work on general relativity was still disputed. The Nobel committee decided that citing his less-contested theory in the Prize would gain more acceptance from the scientific community. | |||
====The "Copenhagen" interpretation==== | |||
] sparred over ] during the 1920s. Photo taken by ] during their visit to Leiden in December 1925]] | |||
Einstein postulated that light can be described not only as a wave with no kinetic energy, but also as massless discrete packets of energy called quanta with measurable kinetic energy (now known as photons). In 1909 Einstein presented his first paper on the quantification of light to a gathering of physicists and told them that they must find some way to understand waves and particles together. | |||
In the mid-1920s, as the original quantum theory was replaced with a new theory of ], Einstein balked at the ] of the new equations either because it settled for a probabilistic, non-visualizable account of physical behaviour, or because it described matter as being in necessarily contradictory states. However, Einstein agreed that the theory was the best available{{citation needed}}, but he looked for a more "complete" explanation, i.e., either more ] or one that could more fundamentally explain the reason for probabilities in a logical way. He could not abandon the belief that physics described the laws that govern "real things", nor could he abandon the belief that there are no explanations that contain contradictions, which had driven him to his successes explaining photons, relativity, atoms, and gravity. | |||
In a 1926 letter to ], Einstein made a remark that is now famous: | |||
: ''Quantum mechanics is certainly imposing. But an inner voice tells me it is not yet the real thing. The theory says a lot, but does not really bring us any closer to the secret of the Old One. I, at any rate, am convinced that He does not throw dice.'' | |||
To this, ], who sparred with Einstein on quantum theory, retorted, "Stop telling God what He must do!" The ] on foundational aspects of quantum mechanics happened during the ]s. | |||
Einstein was not rejecting probabilistic theories ''per se''. Einstein himself was a great statistician<ref></ref>, using statistical analysis in his works on Brownian motion and photoelectricity and in papers published before the miraculous year 1905; Einstein had even discovered ]s. He believed, however, that at the core reality behaved ]. Many physicists argue that experimental evidence contradicting this belief was found much later with the discovery of ] and ]. | |||
====Bose-Einstein statistics==== | |||
In 1924, Einstein received a short paper from a young ]n physicist named ] describing light as a gas of photons and asking for Einstein's assistance in publication. Einstein realized that the same statistics could be applied to atoms, and published an article in ] (then the ] of physics) which described Bose's model and explained its implications. ] now describe any assembly of these ] known as ]s. The ] phenomenon was predicted in the 1920s by Bose and Einstein, based on Bose's work on the statistical mechanics of photons, which was then formalized and generalized by Einstein. The first such condensate was produced by ] and ] in 1995 at the ]. Einstein's original sketches on this theory were recovered in August 2005 in the library of ].<ref>{{cite web | title=Einstein archive at the Instituut-Lorentz | url=http://www.lorentz.leidenuniv.nl/history/Einstein_archive/ | accessdate=November 21 | accessyear=2005 }}</ref> | |||
Einstein also assisted ] in the development of the ], a mixed classical and quantum mechanical gas model although he realized that this was less significant than the Bose-Einstein model and declined to have his name included on the paper. | |||
====The Einstein refrigerator==== | |||
] patent diagram for the ].]] | |||
Einstein and former student ] co-invented a unique type of ] (usually called the ]) in 1926.<ref>{{cite web | title=Einstein's Refrigerator | url=http://gtalumni.org/StayInformed/magazine/sum98/einsrefr.html | accessdate=November 21 | accessyear=2005 }}</ref> On ], ], {{US patent|1,781,541}} was awarded to Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd. The patent covered a thermodynamic refrigeration cycle providing cooling with no moving parts, at a constant ], with only ] as an input. The refrigeration cycle used ], ], and ]. | |||
====World War II==== | |||
When ] came to power in January ], Einstein was a guest professor at ], a position which he took in December ], after an invitation from the American educator, ]. In 1933, the ] passed "]" which forced all Jewish university professors out of their jobs, and throughout the 1930s a campaign to label Einstein's work as "Jewish physics"—in contrast with "German" or "Aryan physics"—was led by Nobel laureates ] and ]. With the assistance of the ], the '']'' supporters worked to publish pamphlets and textbooks denigrating Einstein's theories and attempted to politically ] German physicists who taught them, notably ]. Einstein renounced his Prussian citizenship and stayed in the ], where he was given permanent residency. He accepted a position at the newly founded ] in ], ]. He became an American citizen in 1940, though he still retained Swiss citizenship. | |||
In 1939, under the encouragement of Szilárd, Einstein ] to President ] urging the study of ] for military purposes, under fears that the Nazi government would be first to develop ]s. Roosevelt started a small investigation into the matter which eventually became the massive ]. Einstein himself did not work on the bomb project, however. | |||
The ] was founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein to assist opponents of Adolf Hitler. | |||
For more information, see the section below on Einstein's ]. | |||
====Institute for Advanced Study==== | |||
His work at the Institute for Advanced Study focused on the unification of the ], which he referred to as the ''Unified Field Theory''. He attempted to construct a model which would describe all of the ] as different manifestations of a single force. This took the form of an attempt to unify the gravitational and electrodynamic forces, but was hindered because the ] and ]s were not understood independently until around ], 15 years after Einstein's death. Einstein's goal of unifying the laws of physics under a single model survives in the current drive for ]. | |||
=====Generalized theory===== | |||
Einstein began to form a ] with the Universal Law of Gravitation and the electromagnetic force in his first attempt to demonstrate the unification and simplification of the fundamental forces. In 1950 he described his work in a '']'' article. Einstein was guided by a belief in a single statistical measure of variance for the entire set of physical laws. Einstein's Generalized Theory of Gravitation is a universal mathematical approach to field theory. He investigated reducing the different phenomena by the process of logic to something already known or evident. | |||
Einstein postulated a four-dimensional space-time continuum expressed in axioms represented by five component vectors. Particles appear in his research as a limited region in space in which the field strength or the energy density are particularly high. Einstein treated subatomic particles as objects embedded in the unified field, influencing it and existing as an essential constituent of the unified field but not of it. Einstein also investigated a natural generalization of symmetrical tensor fields, treating the combination of two parts of the field as being a natural procedure of the total field and not the symmetrical and antisymmetrical parts separately. He researched a way to delineate the equations and systems to be derived from a ]. | |||
Einstein became increasingly isolated in his research on a generalized theory of gravitation and was ultimately unsuccessful in his attempts. In particular, his pursuit of a unification of the fundamental forces ignored work in the physics community at large, most notably the discovery of the ] and ]. | |||
] style, in ] (112 Mercer Street).]] | |||
===Final years=== | |||
In 1948, Einstein served on the original committee which resulted in the founding of ]. A portrait of Einstein was taken by ] on ] of that same year. In 1952, the ]i government proposed to Einstein that he take the post of second president. He declined the offer, and is believed to be the only United States citizen ever to have been offered a position as a foreign head of state. On ], ], Einstein released a revised unified ]. | |||
He died at 1:15 AM<ref></ref> in Princeton hospital<ref></ref> in ], on ], ] at the age of 76 from internal bleeding, which was caused by the rupture of an ], leaving the ] unsolved. The only person present at his deathbed, a hospital nurse, said that just before his death he mumbled several words in ] that she did not understand. He was ] without ceremony on the same day he died at ], in accordance with his wishes. His ashes were scattered at an undisclosed location. | |||
An autopsy was performed on Einstein by Dr. ], who removed and preserved ]. Harvey found nothing unusual with his brain, but in 1999 further analysis by a team at ] revealed that his parietal ] region was missing and, to compensate, his inferior ] was 15% wider than normal.<ref>{{cite web | title=BBC News : Sci/Tech : Why size mattered for Einstein | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/371698.stm | accessdate=November 21 | accessyear=2005 }}</ref> The inferior parietal region is responsible for mathematical thought, visuospatial cognition, and imagery of movement. Einstein's brain also contained 73% more ] than the average brain. | |||
==Personality== | |||
===Religious views=== | |||
{{cleanup-date|May 2006}} | |||
Einstein was an Honorary Associate of the ] beginning in 1934, and was an admirer of ].<ref>{{cite web | title=The Humanist Way: An Introduction to Ethical Humanist Religion | url=http://www.aeu.org/ericson2.html | accessdate=February 25 | accessyear=2006 }}</ref> He served on the advisory board of the ].<ref>{{cite web | title=Charles Francis Potter | url=http://www.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/charlesfrancispotter.html | accessdate=May 14 | accessyear=2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Genesis of a Humanist Manifesto | url=http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/edwin_wilson/manifesto/ch2.html | accessdate=May 14 | accessyear=2006 }}</ref> | |||
To Einstein the word God meant | |||
the ] | |||
as revealed, in part, by science. | |||
He felt that society's traditional gods were too primitive for him | |||
in light of the standard models of ] | |||
and ]. | |||
Einstein once said: "My first religious training of any kind was in | |||
the Catholic catechism." | |||
Also: "I came - though the child of entirely irreligious (Jewish) parents | |||
- to a deep religiousness, which, however, | |||
reached an abrupt end at the age of twelve." | |||
As an adult, he called his religion a "cosmic religious sense" | |||
. | |||
For example: "What I see in Nature is a magnificent structure | |||
that we can comprehend only very imperfectly, | |||
and that must fill a thinking person with a feeling of 'humility.' | |||
This is a genuinely religious feeling that has nothing to do with mysticism." | |||
Einstein believed true theorists are ] | |||
], saying: | |||
"I believe that every true theorist is a kind of tamed metaphysicist, | |||
no matter how pure a ']' he may fancy himself. | |||
The metaphysicist believes that the logically simple is also the real. | |||
The tamed metaphysicist believes that not all that is logically simple | |||
is embodied in experienced reality, but that | |||
the totality of all sensory experience can be 'comprehended' | |||
on the basis of a conceptual system built on premises of great simplicity." | |||
Einstein postulated that time is pseudodirectional because | |||
randomness is always ], | |||
i.e. the future is just as ] as the past, saying: | |||
"The scientist is possessed by the sense of universal causation. | |||
The future, to him, is every whit as necessary and determined as the past." | |||
He also once wrote: "People like us, who believe in physics, | |||
know that the distinction between past, present, and future | |||
is only a stubbornly persistent illusion." | |||
Consequently, he felt physical processes determined absolutely everything, | |||
including man's desires, see ]. For example: | |||
"I do not believe in freedom of the will. Schopenhauer's words: | |||
“ Man can do what he wants, but he cannot will what he wills ” | |||
accompany me in all situations throughout my life and reconcile me with | |||
the actions of others even if they are rather painful to me. | |||
This awareness of the lack of freedom of will preserves me from | |||
taking too seriously myself and my fellow men as | |||
acting and deciding individuals and from losing my temper." | |||
While Bohr's ] was mute on metaphysical issues, | |||
Einstein thought today's theories and technologies are not the last word, | |||
i.e. if the past is any indicator, theories and technologies will improve. | |||
Einstein's ability to find once hidden causalities | |||
decades before they were empirically proven exemplified | |||
his faith in sober-minded metaphysics. For example, | |||
decades before it could be empirically verified | |||
his General Relativity explained exactly how | |||
a clock with <math>1x10^{-16}</math> second accuracy | |||
ticks faster with a minute increase in altitude. | |||
===Political views=== | |||
], the chairman of the ] ], in 1943.]] | |||
Einstein considered himself a ]<ref>{{cite web | title=Einstein : American Museum of Natural History | url=http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/einstein/peace/index.php | accessdate=November 21 | accessyear=2005 }}</ref> and ],<ref>Ibid.</ref> and in later years, a committed ]. He once said, ''"I believe ] views were the most enlightened of all the political men of our time. We should strive to do things in his spirit: not to use violence for fighting for our cause, but by non-participation of anything you believe is evil."'' Einstein's views on other issues, including socialism, ] and ], were controversial. In a 1949 article entitled "Why Socialism?",<ref>{{cite news|title=Why Socialism?|first=Albert|last=Einstein|publisher=Monthly Review|date=May 1949|url=http://www.monthlyreview.org/598einst.htm|accessdate=2006-01-16}}</ref> Albert Einstein described the "predatory phase of human development", exemplified by a chaotic ] society, as a source of evil to be overcome. He disapproved of the ] regimes in the ] and elsewhere, and argued in favor of a ] system which would combine a ] with a deep respect for ]. Einstein was a co-founder of the liberal ] and a member of the ]-affiliated union the ]. | |||
Einstein was very much involved in the ]. He was a close friend of ] for over 20 years. Einstein was a member of several civil rights groups (including the Princeton chapter of the ]) many of which were headed by Paul Robeson. He served as co-chair with ] of the ''American Crusade to End Lynching''. When ] was frivolously charged with being a communist spy during the McCarthy era while he was in his 80s, Einstein volunteered as a character witness in the case. The case was dismissed shortly after it was announced that he was to appear in that capacity. Einstein was quoted as saying that "racism is America's greatest disease". | |||
The U.S. ] kept a 1,427 page file on his activities and recommended that he be barred from immigrating to the United States under the ], alleging that Einstein ''"believes in, advises, advocates, or teaches a doctrine which, in a legal sense, as held by the courts in other cases, 'would allow ] to stalk in unmolested' and result in 'government in name only'"'', among other charges. They also alleged that Einstein ''"was a member, sponsor, or affiliated with thirty-four ] fronts between 1937-1954"'' and ''"also served as honorary chairman for three communist organizations"''.<ref>{{cite web | title=Federal Bureau of Investigation - Freedom of Information Privacy Act | url=http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/einstein.htm | accessdate=November 21 | accessyear=2005 }}</ref> It should be noted that many of the documents in the file were submitted to the FBI, mainly by civilian political groups, and not actually written by FBI officials. | |||
], to ] arguing that the United States should start funding research into the development of ]s.]] | |||
Einstein opposed tyrannical forms of government, and for this reason (and his Jewish background), opposed the Nazi regime and fled Germany shortly after it came to power. At the same time, Einstein's ] nephew ], who shared many of his views, was fighting the fascists in the ]. Einstein initially favored construction of the ], in order to ensure that ] did not do so first, and even sent a letter<ref>{{cite web | title=Einstein's Letters to Roosevelt | url=http://hypertextbook.com/eworld/einstein.shtml | accessdate=November 21 | accessyear=2005 }}</ref> to President ] (dated ], ], before ] broke out, and probably written by ]) encouraging him to initiate a program to create a nuclear weapon. Roosevelt responded to this by setting up a committee for the investigation of using ] as a weapon, which in a few years was superseded by the ]. | |||
After the war, though, Einstein lobbied for ] and a ]: "I do not know how the Third World War will be fought, but I can tell you what they will use in the Fourth—rocks!"<ref>Calaprice p. 173. Other versions of the quote exist.</ref> | |||
] note from ] with the portrait of Einstein.]] | |||
While Einstein was a supporter of ] in the cultural sense, he often expressed reservations regarding its application in terms of nationalism. During a speech at the Commodore Hotel in New York, he told the crowd "My awareness of the essential nature of Judaism resists the idea of a Jewish state with borders, an army, and a measure of temporal power, no matter how modest. I am afraid of the inner damage Judaism will sustain ." He also purchased a full-page ad in the New York Times condeming early Zionists for their treatment of the indigenous Arabs, not notable at Deir Yassin . | |||
Despite these reservations, he was active in the establishment of the ] in ], which published (1930) a volume titled ''About Zionism: Speeches and Lectures by Professor Albert Einstein'', and to which Einstein bequeathed his papers. In later life, in 1952, he was offered the post of second president of the newly created state of ], but declined the offer, saying that he lacked the necessary people skills. However, Einstein was deeply committed to the welfare of Israel and the Jewish people for the rest of his life. | |||
Albert Einstein was closely associated with plans for what the press called "a Jewish-sponsored non-quota university," from ], ], with the announcement of the formation of the Albert Einstein Foundation for Higher Learning, Inc. until ], ], when he withdrew support and barred the use of his name by the foundation. The university opened in 1948 as ]. | |||
Einstein, along with ] and ], fought against nuclear tests and bombs. As his last public act, and just days before his death, he signed the ], which led to the ]. His letter to Russell read: | |||
:''Dear Bertrand Russell,'' | |||
::''Thank you for your letter of April 5. I am gladly willing to sign your excellent statement. I also agree with your choice of the prospective signers.'' | |||
:''With kind regards, A. Einstein'' | |||
== Citizenship == | |||
Einstein was born a ] citizen. At the age of 17, on ], ], he was released from his German citizenship by his own request and with the approval of his father. He remained ] for five years. On ], ] he gained ] citizenship, which he never revoked. Einstein obtained Prussian citizenship in ] when he entered the Prussian civil service, but due to the political situation and the persecution of Jewish people in ], he left civil service in ] and thus also lost the Prussian citizenship. On ], Einstein became an ]. He remained both an American and a Swiss citizen until his death on ]. | |||
==Popularity and cultural impact== | |||
Einstein's popularity has led to widespread use of Einstein in ] and ], including the registration of "Albert Einstein" as a ]. | |||
===Entertainment=== | |||
Albert Einstein has become the subject of a number of novels, ]s and plays, including ]'s 2005 French novel, Einstein S'il Vous Plait (Please Mr Einstein), ]'s film '']'', ]'s film '']'', ]'s novel ''Einstein's Dreams'', and ]'s comedic play "]". He was the subject of ]'s groundbreaking 1976 ] '']''. His humorous side is also the subject of ]'s one-man play '']''. He also appears in '']'' strategy game series where he is still alive even in 1972. | |||
He is often used as a model for depictions of ] and ]s in works of fiction; his own character and distinctive hairstyle suggest eccentricity, or even lunacy and are widely copied or exaggerated. ] magazine writer Frederic Golden referred to Einstein as "a cartoonist's dream come true."<ref></ref> | |||
On Einstein's 72nd birthday in 1951, the ] photographer Arthur Sasse was trying to coax him into smiling for the camera. Having done this for the photographer many times that day, Einstein stuck out his tongue instead.<ref>{{cite web | title=mental_floss library | url=http://www.mentalfloss.com/archives/archive2003-03-14.htm | accessdate=November 21 | accessyear=2005 }}</ref> The image has become an icon in pop culture for its contrast of the genius scientist displaying a moment of levity. ], an Australian film maker, used the photo as an inspiration for the intentionally anachronistic movie '']''. | |||
He's also mentioned in ]'s history themed song "]" as the first figure in the 7th stanza. | |||
===Mythology=== | |||
There are innumerable legends suggesting that Einstein was a poor student, was a slow learner, | |||
or suffered from autism, dyslexia, and/or attention deficit disorder. According to the authoritative | |||
biography by ] (page 36, among others), such legends are unfounded. An article in | |||
] on ], ] further debunked these legends. | |||
There is a recurring rumor that Einstein failed mathematics later in his education, but this is untrue; | |||
a change in the numbering-system used to record grades may have confused some persons who looked | |||
at the records years later. | |||
===Licensing=== | |||
Einstein bequeathed his estate, as well as the use of his image (see ]), to the ].<ref>{{cite web | title=http://aip.org/history/esva/einuse.htm | url=http://aip.org/history/esva/einuse.htm | accessdate=November 21 | accessyear=2005 }}</ref> Einstein actively supported the university during his life and this support continues with the ] received from licensing activities. ] ]s the commercial use of the name "Albert Einstein" and associated imagery and likenesses of Einstein, as ] for the ]. As head licensee the agency can control commercial usage of Einstein's name which does not comply with certain standards (e.g., when Einstein's name is used as a ], the ™ symbol must be used).<ref>{{cite web | title=ALBRT EINSTEIN BRAND LOGO | url=http://www.albert-einstein.net/styleguide-readonly/brand.html | accessdate=November 21 | accessyear=2005 }}</ref> As of May, 2005, the Roger Richman Agency was acquired by ]. | |||
===Honors=== | |||
] | |||
Einstein has received a number of posthumous honors. For example: | |||
*In 1992, he was ranked #10 on ]'s ]. | |||
*In 1999, he was named ''Person of the Century'' by ] magazine. | |||
*Also in 1999, ] recorded him as the fourth most ] person of the 20th century. | |||
*The year 2005 was designated as the "]" by ] for its coinciding with the centennial of the "]" papers, celebrated at the ]. | |||
Among Einstein's many namesakes are: | |||
*a unit used in ], the '']''. | |||
*the ] 99, ]. | |||
*the ] ]. | |||
*the ]. | |||
*the ]. | |||
*the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University<ref>{{cite web | title= the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University | url=http://www.aecom.yu.edu | accessdate=November 21 | accessyear=2005 }}</ref> opened in 1955. | |||
*the Albert Einstein Medical Center<ref>{{cite web | title= Albert Einstein Medical Center | url=http://www.einstein.edu/facilities/aemc/ | accessdate=November 21 | accessyear=2005 }}</ref> in ], PA. | |||
==Works by Albert Einstein== | |||
].]] | |||
* "" ''].'' ]. (] image) | |||
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* "" ''].'' ]. (] image) | |||
* "" ''].'' ]. (] image) | |||
* "" ''].'' ]. (] image) | |||
* "" ''].'' ] (with J. Laub). (] image) | |||
* "" ''].'' ] (with J. Laub). (] image) | |||
* "" ''].'' ] (with J. Laub). (] image) | |||
* "" ''].'' ] (with J. Laub). (] image) | |||
* "" ''].'' ]. (] image) | |||
* "" ''].'' ] (with L. Hopf). (] image) | |||
* "" ''].'' ] (with L. Hopf). (] image) | |||
* "" ''].'' ]. (] image) | |||
* "" ''].'' ]. (] image) | |||
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* "" ''].'' ]. (] image) | |||
* "" ''].'' ] (with O. Stern). (] image) | |||
* "" ''].'' ] (with A. D. Fokker). (] image) | |||
* "" ''].'' ]. (] image) | |||
* "" ''].'' ]. (] image) | |||
* "" ''].'' ]. (] image) | |||
* "" ''].'' ]. (] image) | |||
* "" ''].'' ]. (] image) | |||
*'''', 1895. (] format) | |||
* "" ''].'' ], ] | |||
* "" ''].'' ] ]. | |||
* "." 1914. (PDF format) | |||
* "." ''],'' 49. 1916. | |||
* "''''" (1920) translated in ''Sidelights on relativity'' (Dover, NY, 1983), pp.1-24 (''ed''. was an address delivered on May 5th, 1920, in the ]; classes general relativity as a form of (nonparticulate) aether theory) | |||
*''].'' 1920, revised edition, 1954, ISBN 0517884410 () (HTML and PDF format) | |||
* "]." ''1921 Nobel Lecture in Physics.'' Nordic Assembly of Naturalists at Gothenburg, ] ]. | |||
* Einstein A., Lorenz H. A., Weyl H. and Minkowski H. ''The Principle of Relativity.'' Trans. W. Perrett and ]. New York: Dover Publications, 1923. | |||
*''The World As I See It'', 1934, ISBN 080650711X | |||
* {{cite book | last = Einstein | first = Albert | coauthors = ] | year = 1938 | title = The Evolution of Physics | id = ISBN 0671201565}} | |||
* "" ''].'' May 1949 (). | |||
* ''''. April, 1950. | |||
*''Ideas & Opinions'' ISBN 0517003937 (writings from 1919 – 1954, containing material from ''The World As I See It'' (1934) and ''Out of My Later Years'' (1950) and ''Mein Weltbild'' (Zurich 1953)) | |||
==Notes== | |||
<div class="references-small"> | |||
<references /> | |||
</div> | |||
==References== | |||
<div class="references-small"> | |||
* {{cite web | author = American Institute of Physics | year = 1996 | url = http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/index.html | title = Einstein-Image and Impact | accessdate = 2006-02-25 }} | |||
* {{cite web | author = Bodanis, David | year = June 2005 | url = http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/bodanis.html | title = Einstein the Nobody | accessdate = 2006-02-25 }} | |||
* {{cite book | author = ] | year = 2004 | month = April | title = Einstein Defiant: Genius versus Genius in the Quantum Revolution | publisher = National Academy Press | id = ISBN 0309089980 }} | |||
* {{cite web | author = Butcher, Sandra Ionno | date = March 2005 | url = http://www.pugwash.org/publication/phs/phslist.htm | title = The Origins of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto }} | |||
* {{cite book | first = Alice | last = Calaprice | title = The new quotable Einstein | pages = p. 173 | publisher = Princeton University Press | year = 2005 | id = ISBN 0-691-12075-7 }} | |||
* {{cite book | author = ] | year = 1971 | title = Einstein: The Life and Times | publisher = Avon | id = ISBN 0-380-44123-3 }} | |||
* {{cite journal | author = Galison, Peter | authorlink = Peter Galison | title = Einstein's Clocks: The Question of Time | journal = Critical Inquiry | year = Winter 2000 | volume = 26 | issue = 2 | pages = 355–389 }}</div>] at the ] in ].]]<div class="references-small"> | |||
* {{cite web | author = Golden, Frederic | date = ] | url = http://www.time.com/time/time100/poc/magazine/albert_einstein5a.html | title = Person of the Century: Albert Einstein | accessdate = 2006-02-25 }} | |||
* {{cite book | author = Highfield, Roger; Carter, Paul | title = The Private Lives of Albert Einstein | publisher = Faber and Faber, London, Boston | year = 1993 | id = ISBN 0-571-17170-2 (US ed. ISBN 0312110472) }} | |||
* {{cite web | author = Holt, Jim | year = February 2005 | url = http://www.newyorker.com/critics/atlarge/?050228crat_atlarge | title = Time Bandits | accessdate = 2006-03-18 }} | |||
* {{cite web | author = Levenson, Thomas | year = June 2005 | url = http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/genius/ | title = Genius Among Geniuses | accessdate = 2006-02-25 }} | |||
*{{cite visual | producer= Dan Levitt | date=2003 | title=Brilliant Minds: Secrets of the Cosmos | medium=TV-Series | location=Boston | distributor=Veriscope Pictures}} | |||
* {{cite web | author = Martínez, Alberto A. | year = April 2004 | url = http://physicsweb.org/articles/world/17/4/2 | title = Arguing about Einstein's wife | publisher = Physics World | accessdate = 2005-11-23 }} | |||
* {{cite book | author = ] | year = 1982 | title = Subtle is the Lord. The Science and the Life of Albert Einstein | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = Oxford | id = ISBN 0-19-520438-7 }} This is the definitive scientific biography. | |||
* {{cite book | author = ] | year = 1994 | title = Einstein Lived Here | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = Oxford | id = ISBN 0198539940 }} This book discusses non-science aspects of Einstein; marriages, affairs, illegitimate daughter, public image. | |||
* {{cite book | author = ] | date = ] | title = Sex, Drugs, Einstein, and Elves: Sushi, Psychedelics, Parallel Universes, and the Quest for Transcendence | publisher = Smart Publications | id = ISBN 1890572179 }} Discusses the final disposition of Einstein's brain, hair, and eyes as well as the importance of Einstein and his work in the shaping of science and culture. | |||
* {{cite book | author = ] | year = 2005 | title = Einstein: A Hundred Years of Relativity | publisher = Palazzo Editions | id = ISBN 0954510348 }} | |||
* {{cite book | author = ] | year = 2000 | title = Einstein (Life & Times Series) | publisher = Haus Publishing | id = ISBN 1904341152 }} | |||
* {{cite book | author = ] | date = 1998-03-30 | title = Einstein's Miraculous Year: Five Papers That Changed the Face of Physics | publisher = Princeton University Press | id = ISBN 0691059381 }} | |||
*{{cite book | author = ] | year = 1999| title = Einstein's German World | publisher = Princeton, N.J, Princeton University Press, | id = ISBN 069105939X}} | |||
* {{cite book | authorlink = Kip Thorne | last = Thorne | first = Kip | year = 1995 | title = ] | publisher = W. W. Norton & Company | edition = Reprint edition | date = ] ] | id = ISBN 0393312763 }} | |||
</div> | |||
==See also== | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
==External links== | |||
{{wikiquote|Albert Einstein}} | |||
{{commons|Albert Einstein}} | |||
{{sisterlinks|Albert Einstein}} | |||
* {{gutenberg author| id=Albert+Einstein | name=Albert Einstein}} | |||
* ]: — | |||
* ]: digitalized at The University of Applied Sciences in Jena (Fachhochschule ]) | |||
* S. Morgan Friedman, ""—Comprehensive listing of online resources about Einstein. | |||
* ]: includes his life and work, audio files and full site available as a downloadable PDF for classroom use | |||
*] 100: | |||
* - Hundreds of famous Albert Einstein quotes | |||
* ''Audio excerpts of famous speeches: '' , , (From Time magazine archives) | |||
* {{MacTutor Biography|id=Einstein}} | |||
* ]: | |||
* | |||
* PBS | |||
* PBS : Mileva Maric | |||
* ]: —investigation regarding affiliation with the Communist Party | |||
* ]: | |||
* ]: | |||
* | |||
* ]: ] project to search for the gravitational waves predicted by Einstein's Theory of General Relativity] | |||
* | |||
{{featured article}} | |||
{{Persondata | |||
|NAME=Einstein, Albert | |||
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|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Physicist | |||
|DATE OF BIRTH=], ] | |||
|PLACE OF BIRTH=], ], ] | |||
|DATE OF DEATH=], ] | |||
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Revision as of 14:31, 6 June 2006
albert einstein was queer