Albert Einstein

2007-03-20T16:49:46Z

Dimwitt:

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) was a theoretical physicist who 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 spent unsuccessfully searching for a [[Unified Field Theory]]. Born in Germany, he won the [[Nobel Prize]] for his work on the [[Photoelectric Effect]] in 1921.<ref>http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/</ref> He immigrated to the United States in the late 1930s where, upon the urging of a colleague in physics, recommended that President Franklin D. Roosevelt develop an [[atomic bomb]] project.<ref>[http://www.dannen.com/ae-fdr.html]</ref>

Einstein's best-known scientific work is his 1905 papers on [[Special Relativity]]. 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.

Einstein then wrote a series of papers applying relativity to gravity using the mathematics of [[Riemannian Geometry]], resulting in [[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.

[[Arthur Eddington]] popularized General Relativity by publishing an explanation of it and by attempting to prove the theory experimentally in a dramatic test. Eddington embarked on a highly publicized trip into the Atlantic Ocean off Africa in order to observe the bending of [[star]]light passing nearby the [[Sun]] during the total [[solar eclipse]] of May 29, 1919. Eddington returned with a declaration that he had proven Einstein's theory of [[General Relativity]], making Einstein extremely famous, when in fact he had selectively used data to attain this result. No Nobel Prize was given for relativity.

==Cosmological Constant==
Einstein revised his work on [[General Relativity]] to include a '[[fudge-factor]]' which he termed the [[Cosmological Constant]]. He was trying to account for the apparent steady-state nature of the universe.

[[Edwin Hubble]], of whom [[NASA]]'s famous [[Hubble Space Telescope]] is named in honor, later convinced him otherwise. At one point he had Einstein actually making direct [[observation]]s alongside him, and Hubble's [[finding]]s showed conclusively that the [[universe]] was indeed [[expand]]ing, as predicted by certain solutions of GR's field equations in the absence of a cosmological constant. Einstein recanted his original [[philosophy]], and accepted as true the notion of a changing universe having a definite [[begin]]ning.

He later said of his Cosmological Constant, "It was the biggest blunder of my life."

An interesting end-note on this term: Principle investigators from [[Princeton]] [[University]] first published findings in 1998 apparently revealing an [[accelerating]] expansion for the universe<ref>http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_mm.html</ref>. Because this initially seemed like it might be a sort of 'anti-gravity' effect (similar in concept to Einstein's original notion), it briefly became quite popular for scientists to dub the [[phenomenon]] the 'Cosmological Constant' as well. For more information, see: [[Dark Energy]].

==Religious Beleifs==

Einstien was a deeply religious figure, but not in the conventional sense. He made it clear throughout his life that he did not beleive in a personal God, Being one who made the universe and interacted with their creations eg. answering prayers. What he beleived in was a God who is essentially the laws of physics, this made sense to him as they created the universe and made the universe what it is today. He was also a rationalist aking the point that science and religion could co-incide with each other "science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind ...a legitimate conflict between science and religion cannot exist."

==Controversy Surrounding His Death==

Dr. Thomas Stoltz Harvey, then a pathologist, performed the autopsy on Einstein several hours after his death. Upon completion, Dr. Harvey removed the brain and possibly his eyes <ref>NPR, [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4602913]</ref>. There is controversy about whether or not Harve had consent from the Einstein family to remove the brain and keep it.

The brain was photographed and sliced into 240 pieces in order to be preserved and further studied. Harvey hoped some uniqueness would be discovered that distinguished Einstein's brain as "genius".

Although he sent pieces away for further study, the bulk of the brain remains with Harvey in "two large glass cookie jars full of what look(s) to be very chunky chicken soup in golden broth" <ref>4</ref>

==References==
*"The Nobel Prize in Physics 1921"[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/]
*"On The Electrodynamics Of Moving Bodies"[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/specrel.pdf]
*"Does The Inertia Of A Body Depend Upon Its Energy-Content?"[http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/E_mc2/e_mc2.pdf
*Michael Paterniti, <i>Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America With Einstein's Brain</i>

[[Category:Biographies]]

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Albert Einstein