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[[Image:600px-Albert Einstein Head.jpg|right|250px]]

[[Image:600px-Albert Einstein Head.jpg|right|250px]]

'''Albert Einstein''' (1879-1955) was the most famous [[physicist]] of the 20th century. He was born in Ulm, in Württemberg, [[Germany]] in a [[Judaism|Jewish]] family. During his stay at the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Patent and Trademark Office|Patent Office]] Einstein produced much of his remarkable work. In 1905 he obtained his [[Doctor|doctor's degree]]. He won the [[Nobel Prize]] for his work on the Photoelectric Effect in 1921. <ref>http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/</ref> Einstein [[Immigration|immigrated]] to the [[United States of America|United States]] in the late 1930s to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at [[Princeton University|Princeton]]; upon the urging of a colleague in physics, recommended that [[President of the United States of America|President]] [[Franklin Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt]] develop an [[atomic bomb]] project. <ref>[http://www.dannen.com/ae-fdr.html]</ref> He later regretted this and became a passionate [[Pacifism|pacifist]].  In 1952, he was offered the Presidency of [[Israel]], but he turned it down. Einstein collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in establishing the [[Hebrew]] [[University]] of [[Jerusalem]]. Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955 at Princeton, [[New Jersey]] at the age of 76.

'''Albert Einstein''' (1879-1955) was a well recognized [[physicist]] of the 20th century. He was born in Ulm, in Württemberg, [[Germany]] in a [[Judaism|Jewish]] family. During his stay at the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Patent and Trademark Office|Patent Office]] Einstein produced much of his remarkable work. In 1905 he obtained his [[Doctor|doctor's degree]]. He won the [[Nobel Prize]] for his work on the Photoelectric Effect in 1921. <ref>http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/</ref> Einstein [[Immigration|immigrated]] to the [[United States of America|United States]] in the late 1930s to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at [[Princeton University|Princeton]]; upon the urging of a colleague in physics, recommended that [[President of the United States of America|President]] [[Franklin Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt]] develop an [[atomic bomb]] project. <ref>[http://www.dannen.com/ae-fdr.html]</ref> He later regretted this and became a passionate [[Pacifism|pacifist]].  In 1952, he was offered the Presidency of [[Israel]], but he turned it down. Einstein collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in establishing the [[Hebrew]] [[University]] of [[Jerusalem]]. Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955 at Princeton, [[New Jersey]] at the age of 76.

==Anecdotes==

==Anecdotes==

== Works ==

== Works ==

Einstein contributed to the theory of a [[Special Relativity]] and the theory of [[General Relativity]].  He also contributed to the study of Photoelectric Effect, Brownian Motion and Bose-Einstein Statistics.  He was critical of quantum mechanics and has proposed the EPR-Paradox in attempt to point out spooky aspects of the theory.  The last fifteen years of his life were spent in unsuccessfully searching for a [[Unified Field Theory]].   

Einstein developed the theory of [[Special Relativity]] and the theory of [[General Relativity]].  He also contributed to the study of Photoelectric Effect, Brownian Motion and Bose-Einstein Statistics.  He was critical of quantum mechanics and has proposed the EPR-Paradox in attempt to point out spooky aspects of the theory.  The last fifteen years of his life were spent in unsuccessfully searching for a [[Unified Field Theory]].   

Einstein's best-known scientific work is his 1905 papers on [[Special Relativity]]. Einstein did not cite any references and it was widely and falsely assumed that his work was original. The theory of relativity had already been published by [[Hendrik Lorentz]] and [[Henri Poincaré]]. Einstein's contribution was to give a description of the Lorentz-Poincare theory without reference to the luminiferous aether, and to clarify some of the physical consequences of the theory. He used the term "stationary system" instead of the term aether.

Einstein's best-known scientific work is his 1905 papers on [[Special Relativity]]. These papers are particularly interesting as they did not cite any external references and were entirely original. The beginnings of the theory of relativity had already been published by [[Hendrik Lorentz]] and [[Henri Poincaré]]. However they failed to make the critical leap and develop their ideas to form a comprehensive theory.  One of Einstein's contributions was to give a description of the Lorentz-Poincare theory without reference to the luminiferous aether, and to clarify the physical consequences of the theory. He used the term "stationary system" instead of the term aether.

Einstein then wrote a series of papers applying relativity to gravity using the mathematics of Riemannian Geometry, contributing to [[General Relativity]]. Much of the actual mathematics of general relativity was worked out by Marcel Grossman, David Hilbert, and others. Einstein's main contribution was to give an alternate derivation of the field equations, and to apply them to explain an [[anomaly]] in the advance of the perihelion in Mercury's orbit.

Einstein then wrote a series of papers applying relativity to gravity using the mathematics of Riemannian Geometry, contributing to [[General Relativity]]. Much of the actual mathematics of general relativity was worked out by Marcel Grossman, David Hilbert, and others. Einstein's main contribution was to give an alternate derivation of the field equations, and to apply them to explain an [[anomaly]] in the advance of the perihelion in Mercury's orbit.

===E=mc²===

===E=mc²===

Einstein’s famous formula E=mc² says that mass and energy can turn into each other. It was first published by H. Poincare. Einstein published an alternate derivation that was corrected and improved by M. Planck. E stands for [[energy]], m is [[mass]], and c is the [[speed of light]]. So, if you increase the energy of a substance, for example by heating it, it gains a minute amount of mass. It was later realized that if you split an atom apart, as in a nuclear explosion, it loses a tiny amount of mass and you release a huge amount of [[energy]].   

Einstein’s famous formula E=mc² says that mass and energy are two different manifestations of the same interaction. It was first published by H. Poincare. Einstein published an alternate derivation that was corrected and improved by M. Planck. E stands for [[energy]], m is [[mass]], and c is the [[speed of light]]. It was later realized that if you split an atom apart, as in a nuclear explosion, it loses a tiny amount of mass that is released in the form of [[energy]].   

The connection E=mc² to nuclear energy is not as direct as pop culture sometimes represents. Einstein did not discover the huge energy available from nuclear reactions. Early workers in radioactivity, such as Ernest Rutherford, understood clearly that the natural radioactive decay of radium released quantities of energy that could not be explained by chemistry, and were much larger than those of chemical reactions. Neither did Einstein originate the key idea that made nuclear energy a possible weapon or a practical energy source. That was Leo Szilard, who acknowledged having been inspired by a 1914 H. G. Wells novel. Szilard discovered or invented the chain reaction (and patented it). However, other people recognized the relation between Einstein's interpretation of the E=mc² formula and chain reactions. Einstein explained that matter releasing energy is also losing mass.

The connection E=mc² to nuclear energy is not as direct as pop culture sometimes represents. Einstein did not discover the huge energy available from nuclear reactions. Early workers in radioactivity, such as Ernest Rutherford, understood clearly that the natural radioactive decay of radium released quantities of energy that could not be explained by chemistry, and were much larger than those of chemical reactions. Neither did Einstein originate the key idea that made nuclear energy a possible weapon or a practical energy source. That was Leo Szilard, who acknowledged having been inspired by a 1914 H. G. Wells novel. Szilard discovered or invented the chain reaction (and patented it). However, other people recognized the relation between Einstein's interpretation of the E=mc² formula and chain reactions. Einstein explained that matter releasing energy is also losing mass.