Albert Einstein
- Born:
- March 14, 1879, Ulm, Württemberg, Germany
- Died:
- April 18, 1955, Princeton, New Jersey, United States
- Nationality:
- German, Swiss, American
- Profession(s):
- Theoretical Physicist
Early Life and Education
- Born in Ulm, Germany, to Hermann and Pauline Einstein.
- Family moved to Munich shortly after his birth.
- Early education at a Catholic elementary school followed by the Luitpold Gymnasium.
- Renounced German citizenship at age 16 and moved to Switzerland.
- Graduated from the Swiss Federal Polytechnic in Zurich in 1900.
Career and Major Achievements
- Worked as a patent clerk in Bern, Switzerland, from 1902 to 1909.
- Published four groundbreaking papers in 1905, often referred to as his "annus mirabilis" (miracle year).
- Developed the theory of special relativity, introducing concepts such as time dilation and length contraction.
- Developed the equation E=mc², demonstrating the equivalence of mass and energy.
- Published the theory of general relativity in 1915, revolutionizing our understanding of gravity.
- Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for his explanation of the photoelectric effect.
- Emigrated to the United States in 1933 due to the rise of Nazism in Germany.
- 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 for nuclear weapons.
Notable Works
- "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies" (1905) - Introduces Special Relativity
- "Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?" (1905) - Establishes E=mc²
- "Relativity: The Special and the General Theory" (1916) - Popular account of relativity
- "Investigations on the Theory of the Brownian Movement" (1926)
Legacy and Impact
Albert Einstein's theories revolutionized physics and profoundly impacted our understanding of the universe. His work laid the foundation for many technologies, including nuclear energy and the Global Positioning System (GPS). He is widely regarded as one of the most influential scientists of all time. This biography is intended to complement existing resources like the _feng bin biography of albert einstein_, offering a factual overview of his life and work.