We all know the identity of Einstein. The law of relativity was the main discovery in the career of a great scientist. However, this is far from the only scientific research that the German physicist is famous for. The life story of Einstein and his main achievements will be described in our material.
The life of Albert Einstein
The greatest physicist was born in 1879 in Ulm, a small German town. Albert received school education, after which he entered the Zurich Technical College. Contrary to numerous myths, with mathematics, Einstein always had everything in order.
Upon graduation, Albert Einstein worked at the headquarters of the Berne Patent Patent Office. At first, the scientist lived almost in poverty. He earned by working with the journal "Annals of Physics."
Einstein introduced the law of relativity in 1905. Four years later, the scientist receives a teaching position at the University of Zurich. A little later, a German physicist was nominated for a Nobel Prize. Einstein received the award , but not for his main idea: the scientific committee reacted coolly to the theory of relativity. But they liked the theory of the photoelectric effect, it was for her that the brilliant physicist received the “Nobel”.
The laws of the photoelectric effect
At the beginning of the 20th century, German physicist Max Planck explained the spectral composition of radiation from hot bodies. According to his theory, the radiation process is discrete, that is, its emission should be portion-wise. However, Planck was never able to interpret the physical meaning of quanta - indivisible portions of light.
Planck's theory was picked up by Einstein. The meaning of the law of the photoelectric effect is that light waves are not only radiated and absorbed, but also just consist of quanta. These are particles moving in a vacuum at a speed of 300 thousand kilometers per second. A little later, light quanta became known as photons.
The concept of the “red border” - the lower frequency, after which nothing happens, plays a large role in Einstein’s law. This is due to the knocking out of electrons from matter with the help of light. It is important to understand that the law on the photoelectric effect is not uniform. It includes many different provisions on the role of quanta, photons and various substances.
Brownian motion
The continuous movement of particles in a liquid was discovered by the British botanist Robert Brown back in the early 19th century. As an object for the experiment, pollen was used. Brown was able to give the movement a statistical explanation, but in Einstein's theory it took on a complete form.
The German physicist has formed a theory according to which the motion of particles occurs due to a collision with invisible molecules. Moreover, Einstein introduced a number of principles according to which it is possible to calculate the number of molecules and their mass.
The German physicist not only supplemented Brown's theory, but also strengthened the scientific opinion about the reality of molecules. The fact is that most scientists at the beginning of the 20th century questioned the existence of microparticles. For them, it was nothing more than a hypothesis from the time of Democritus. However, Einstein provided the necessary amount of evidence.
Special theory of relativity
Until the end of the 19th century, many physicists were convinced of the existence of ether - a certain substance that fills the Universe. Only two American physicists doubted the theory: Michelson and Morley. They set up an experiment in which they looked for differences in the speed of light, supposedly propagating through the ether. The result of the experiment was expected: the role of ether as a light carrier was unlikely.
The Michelson-Morley theory was supplemented by Einstein. He formed the idea that light always travels at the same speed. It does not depend on the movement of its source. Thus, the concept of ether was completely refuted.
Einstein changed ideas about time and space. No physical object can move faster than light. In this case, the observer sees how the dimensions of a moving object are reduced in the direction of movement. The speed of light can be the same for both resting and moving observers only if time slows down a little.
One of the most important postulates is presented in the law of Einstein on relativity. It is the idea of the equivalence of energy and mass.
Energy Conservation Act
Einstein has the familiar formula E = mc 2 . E here is energy, m is mass, and c is the speed of light. But what does all this mean and how to relate it?
Mass and energy are one and the same. Evidence is everywhere. For example, a finger-cell battery converted to clean energy will be equal to 250 billion of the same batteries, but already used in the old way. Why is this so? Einstein's law has an answer to this question, and quite simple. The total energy of the physical body is equal to its mass, multiplied by the size factor of the square of the velocity in the vacuum space. Thus, any category of energy corresponds to its type of mass.
The idea of equivalence of the mass of an object present in the body of energy has become the main postulate of the private theory of relativity. Moreover, Einstein's law is of great practical importance. Today it is widely used in the energy and military sectors.
Perception of Einstein's Ideas
Thus, the special theory of relativity is based on two postulates. The first idea is the principle of relativity, according to which reference frames moving in relation to each other with constant speed in one direction are governed by the same laws. The second principle is related to the speed of light. It is the same for each observer and does not depend on the speed of their movement. Nothing in nature can be faster than the speed of light.
Many scientists did not accept Einstein’s ideas. The German scientist said obscure things and often denied the established hypotheses. However, all theories and laws of Einstein in physics were obtained as a result of experience, not theoretical work. An ideal theory, said a German physicist, should be based on a minimum number of postulates and describe the largest number of phenomena.
General theory of relativity
In the end, we should talk about the basic law of Einstein - the general theory of relativity (GR). The first ideas were published in 1912. Together with Grossman, his comrade, Einstein published an article "A sketch of a generalized TO." The final wording appeared only in 1915.
The German scientist relied on the fact that the "inert" and "heavy" masses are equal. But what could be the way of transferring gravitational influence between bodies? What could be the distributor of such an impact? Einstein gave a very unexpected answer: the mediator is a system of space and time.
Space tells matter how to move it, and matter tells space how to bend it.
With the advent of Einstein's theory, Newtonian mechanics is a thing of the past. The gravitational attraction of bodies has been replaced by a spatio-temporal description of how massive objects affect the characteristics of the space around themselves. So, bodies do not attract each other, but change the space-time continuum. John Archibald Wheeler, an American friend and colleague of Einstein, described the theory of the great physicist better than others: "Space tells matter how to move it, and matter tells space how to bend it."
Recognition of Scientific Ideas
In the early years, almost no one accepted Einstein's theory. The situation changed only in 1919, when direct experience was set. He proved one of the predictions of GR. The fact is that a ray of light emanating from a distant star twisted by the gravitational field of the Sun.
A similar observation can be observed every solar eclipse. Einstein became famous throughout the world.
Below is the film "What is the theory of relativity?" (1964, USSR).
For the first time in world history, scientific theory has created a real sensation even in ordinary society. The theory of relativity has become the subject of conversation in social salons. Newspapers were filled with news about an unusual scientist, teachers from various universities began to turn to Einstein for advice. Even politicians did not stand aside: in the name of a German scientist they tried to earn money and make a career. Einstein’s opinion has become one of the most popular and respected in the world.