Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879 - April 18, 1955), a world-famous German-American scientist, a Jew, the founder and founder of modern physics The founder, the proposer of the theory of relativity and the 'mass-energy relationship', the defender of the 'deterministic interpretation of quantum mechanics' (vibrating particles) - God who does not play dice. On December 26, 1999, Einstein was selected as the "Great Man of the Century" by the American "Time" magazine
Einstein graduated from the Technical University of Zurich in 1900 and became a Swiss citizen. Received a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Zurich in 1905. Served at the Patent Office in Bern. Professor at the Technical University of Zurich and Deutsche University in Prague. Returning to Germany in 1913, he served as director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Physics in Berlin and professor at the University of Berlin, and was elected as an academician of the Prussian Academy of Sciences. In 1933, due to persecution by the Nazi regime, he moved to the United States and became a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, where he engaged in theoretical physics research. In 1940, he became a U.S. citizen.
When Einstein was young, one day the Kaiser's troops passed through the streets of Munich. Curious people flocked to the windows to cheer, and the children were fascinated by the soldiers' shiny helmets and neat footsteps. While fascinated, Einstein hid in fear. He despised and was afraid of these "war monsters" and asked his mother to take him to a land where he would never become such a monster. When he was in middle school, his mother fulfilled Einstein's request and took him to Italy. Einstein gave up his German citizenship, but he did not apply for Italian citizenship. He wanted to be a world citizen without any attachments. ...After the war, Einstein tried to build his dream of world peace on the basis of reality and made a series of "peace" speeches in "enemy countries". His thoughts and actions brought him close to death: a Russian aristocratic female assassin with imperialist ambitions secretly aimed her gun at him; Albert Eyre also appeared on the blacklist of German right-wing assassins Einstein's name; Hitler placed a reward of 20,000 marks on his head. In order to maintain "harmony" between himself and the world, Einstein had to move from Italy to the Netherlands, then from the Netherlands to the United States, and became an American citizen. He believes that in the United States, people of all classes can survive in barely passable friendships. (Excerpted from "Einstein's Reflections", Issue 5-6, 1985, of the academic monthly "Applied Writing"
The late nineteenth century was a period of change in physics. Einstein started from experimental facts and re- He examined the basic concepts of physics and made fundamental breakthroughs in theory. Some of his achievements greatly promoted the development of astronomy, and his quantum theory had a great impact on astrophysics, especially theoretical astrophysics. . The first mature aspect of theoretical astrophysics, the theory of stellar atmospheres, was built on the basis of quantum theory and radiation theory. Einstein's special theory of relativity successfully revealed the relationship between energy and mass. Adhering to the deterministic position of the quantum theory interpretation (the vector sum of particle vibration and translation) of "God does not play dice", we have solved the long-standing problem of stellar energy sources. In recent years, more and more high-energy physical phenomena have been discovered. The special theory of relativity has become the most basic theoretical tool to explain this phenomenon, and its general theory of relativity has also solved a long-standing mystery in astronomy, and inferred the light bending phenomenon that was later verified, and became the basis for many astronomical phenomena later. The theoretical basis of the concept.
Einstein’s greatest contribution to astronomy is his cosmological theory. He established the relativistic cosmology and established a static, finite and self-consistent dynamic universe model. Introduced new concepts such as cosmological principles and curved space, which greatly promoted the development of modern astronomy
[Edit this paragraph] Growth history
11:00 am on March 14, 1879. Einstein was born at 135 Bahnhofstrasse in Ulm, Germany. His father's name was Hermann Einstein, and his mother was Pauline Kok.
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In 1884, Einstein became fascinated with the pocket compass.
In 1885, Einstein began to learn violin.
In 1886, Einstein studied at the Munich Public School (Council School); he studied Jewish observances at home.
In 1888, Einstein entered the Louis Pold High School. Continue to receive religious education in school and receive a bar mitzvah ceremony. Friedman is the instructor.
In 1889, under the guidance of Talmei, a medical student, he read popular scientific readings and philosophical works.
In 1891, he taught himself Euclidean geometry and felt passionate about it. At the same time, he began to teach himself advanced mathematics.
In 1892, he began to read the works of Immanuel Kant. In 1895, he taught himself calculus.
In 1896, he received a diploma from Aarau High School. In October, he entered the Normal Department of the Federal Technical University of Zurich to study physics.
On October 19, 1899, Einstein officially applied for Swiss citizenship.
In August 1900, Einstein graduated from the Federal University of Technology in Zurich; in December he completed his thesis "Inferences from Capillary Phenomenon", which was published in the "Journal of Physics" in Leipzig the following year and became a Swiss citizen.
On March 21, 1901, he obtained Swiss nationality. From May to July of this year, I completed the thesis on the thermodynamic theory of electric potential difference.
In September 1904, he was converted from a probationary employee of the Patent Office to a formal third-level technician.
In March 1905, he developed quantum theory, proposed the light quantum hypothesis, and solved the photoelectric effect problem. In April, he submitted his thesis "A New Method for Determining Molecular Size" to the University of Zurich and obtained his doctorate. In May, he completed the paper "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies" and independently and completely proposed the principle of special relativity, creating a new era in physics.
In April 1906, he was promoted to a second-level technician in the Patent Office. In November, I completed a paper on the specific heat of solids, which is the first paper on the quantum theory of solids. In October 1908, he concurrently served as a non-staff lecturer at the University of Bern.
In October 1909, he left the Bern Patent Office and became an associate professor of theoretical physics at the University of Zurich. Einstein
In October 1910, he completed his paper on critical opalescence.
The law of "photochemical equivalent" was proposed in 1912.
In 1913, he returned to Germany and served as director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Physics in Berlin and professor at the University of Berlin. He was also elected as an academician of the Prussian Academy of Sciences.
In April 1914, Einstein accepted the invitation from the German scientific community and moved to Berlin.
In August, World War I broke out. Although he lived in the birthplace of the war and lived surrounded by war advocates, he resolutely expressed his anti-war attitude.
In September, Einstein participated in the founding of the anti-war group "New Motherland Alliance". When this organization was declared illegal and its members were arrested and persecuted in large numbers and went underground, Einstein remained determined Participate in the secret activities of this organization.
In October, under the control and instigation of militarists, the German scientific and cultural circles issued the "Declaration of a Civilized World" to defend the aggressive war launched by Germany and advocated that Germany was above all else and that all The world should embrace the "true German spirit". Ninety-three people signed the "Declaration", all of whom were prestigious German scientists, artists, and pastors at the time. Even Nernst, Roentgen, Ostwald, Planck, etc. all signed it. When Einstein was asked to sign, he flatly refused, but at the same time he resolutely signed his name on the anti-war "Letter to Europeans." This move shocked the world.
In November 1915, he proposed the complete form of the gravity equation of general relativity and successfully explained the perihelion motion of Mercury.
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In March 1916, he completed the concluding paper "Foundations of General Relativity". In May, he proposed the hypothesis that the universe is finite and unbounded. In August, he completed "Quantum Theory of Radiation", summarizing the development of quantum theory and proposing the theory of stimulated emission.
After the victory of the Soviet socialist revolution led by Lenin in 1917, Einstein enthusiastically supported this great revolution and praised it as a great social experiment that would be of decisive significance to the world. : "I respect Lenin because he was a person who had a spirit of complete self-sacrifice and devoted himself wholeheartedly to realizing social justice. I don't think his methods are practical, but one thing is for sure: people like him are He is the defender and recreater of human conscience.”
In November 1918, influenced and inspired by the victory of the Russian October Revolution, German workers and soldiers launched an uprising and overthrew Kaiser Wilhelm. On the third day after II stepped down, Einstein wrote two postcards to his mother, cheering "A great thing has happened... What an honor it is to experience this event personally!" In the 1920s and early 1930s, , Einstein was basically an absolute pacifist. However, the reality of constant wars of aggression and plunder shattered his beautiful dream. Especially after Hitler came to power in 1933, Germany became increasingly fascist, which made Einstein realize that a new barbaric war was inevitable, prompting him to change his views. He made it clear: "When the law and human dignity must be defended, we must fight. Since the danger of fascism has arrived, I no longer believe that absolute passive pacifism is effective. As long as fascism rules Europe, then There will be no peace." Because of Einstein's progressive activities and because he was a Jew, he was listed as an important target of persecution by the German Nazis. Fortunately, he left Germany at the end of 1932 to give lectures in the United States and was not persecuted. His house in Berlin was raided and destroyed, his property confiscated, his books burned, and the Nazis offered a reward of 20,000 marks for his death. Facing the danger of assassination by the Nazis, Einstein showed no fear, but fought more determinedly. When his close friend Laue wrote a letter to persuade him to adopt a prudent and protective attitude towards political issues, he regardless of his personal safety, loudly pointed out that fascism means war, peace must be defended with arms, and called on the American people to rise up and fight fascism. When Einstein later learned from radio broadcasts that the United States had dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing and injuring many civilians, he felt very sad. He later wrote a letter to American citizens, saying: "The scientists who have liberated this huge power must first take responsibility for everything. Atomic energy must be limited and must not be used to kill all mankind, but To enhance human happiness."
Einstein's theory in 1919 is regarded as "one of the greatest achievements in the history of human thought." In December, he received the only honorary degree in Germany: a doctorate in medicine from the University of Rostock.
From April 2 to May 30, 1921, in order to raise funds for the establishment of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, he and Weizmann visited the United States for the first time.
In January 1922, the first paper on unified field theory was completed. In July, he was threatened with murder and temporarily left Berlin. On October 8, Einstein and Elsa took a ship from Marseille to Japan. Visits Colombo, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai along the way. On November 9, while on his way to Japan, Einstein was awarded the 1921 "Nobel Prize in Physics" for his explanation of the photoelectric effect. Visited Japan from November 17th to December 29th.
In July 1923, he went to Gothenburg to receive the 1921 Nobel Prize. In December, it was speculated for the first time that quantum effects may arise from over-constrained general relativistic field equations.
In 1924, the "Bose-Einstein condensation" was discovered.
After 1925, Einstein devoted all his energy to exploring the unified field theory. In the first few years, he was very optimistic and thought victory was in sight; later he found difficulties and he believed that the existing mathematical tools were not enough.
In the 30 years from 1925 to 1955, in addition to the completeness of quantum mechanics, gravitational waves and the motion problems of general relativity, Einstein devoted almost all of his scientific and creative energy to The search for unified field theory.
In 1926, he was elected as an academician of the Soviet Academy of Sciences.
After 1928, he turned to the exploration of pure mathematics. He tried various methods, but failed to achieve results of real physical significance.
In January, he was elected as a director of the "German Human Rights League" (formerly the German "New Fatherland League").
On his 50th birthday in March 1929, he hid in the countryside to avoid birthday celebrations. Won the "Planck Medal" on June 28.
From December 11, 1930 to March 4, 1931, Einstein visited the United States for the second time, giving lectures at the California Institute of Technology.
In July 1932, he corresponded with Freud to discuss the psychological issues of war; he called on the German people to rise up to defend the Weimar Republic and oppose fascism with all their strength.
On January 30, 1933, the Nazis came to power.
On March 10, he issued a statement in Pasadena that he would not return to Germany, and set off back to Europe the next day.
On March 20, the Nazis raided his house and he protested. Later, his property in Germany was confiscated and his books were burned.
In May 1935, he formally applied for permanent residence in the United States in Bermuda. That year, he was running around in order to give the Nobel Prize (Peace Prize) to Ossietzky, who was imprisoned in the Nazi concentration camp.
In March 1937, he supported China's "Seven Gentlemen".
In 1937, with the cooperation of two assistants, he derived the equations of motion from the gravitational field equations of general relativity, further revealing the unity between space, time, matter, and motion. This is the generalized theory of The major development of the theory of relativity was also the last major achievement achieved by Einstein in his scientific creation activities. In terms of unified field theory, he never succeeded. He never got discouraged and started from the beginning with full confidence every time. Because he stayed away from the mainstream of physics research at that time and attacked problems on his own that were unsolvable at the time, he was very isolated in the physics community in his later years, contrary to his situation in the 1920s. However, he remained fearless and unswervingly followed the path he had identified. Until the day before his death, he was still preparing to continue his mathematical calculations on the unified field theory in his hospital bed. Concerned about the destiny of all mankind, Einstein loved science and mankind. He did not put himself outside society because he was immersed in scientific research. He has always been concerned about human civilization and progress, and fought tenaciously and bravely for it. He said: "Only by dedicating oneself to society can one find out the meaning of a life that is actually short and risky." This is exactly what he did.
In September 1938, he wrote a letter to his descendants five thousand years later, expressing his dissatisfaction with the current situation of capitalist society.
On August 2, 1939, he wrote to President Roosevelt, suggesting that the United States speed up atomic energy research to prevent Germany from mastering the atomic bomb first.
On May 22, 1940, he called Roosevelt to oppose the U.S. neutrality policy.
Obtained U.S. citizenship on October 1.
In May 1943, he participated in the work of the U.S. Navy as a scientific advisor.
In 1944, in order to support the anti-fascist war, he auctioned the manuscript of the 1905 special theory of relativity paper for US$6 million.
In 1947, he continued to publish a lot of remarks about world government.
In January 1949, he wrote "Reply to Criticism", a counter-criticism of the Copenhagen School's criticism in the collection "Albert Einstein: Philosopher-Scientist".
On February 13, 1950, he gave a televised speech opposing the United States' efforts to build a hydrogen bomb. On March 18, the will was signed and sealed.
In 1951, he published a series of articles and letters pointing out that the United States' policy of arms expansion and war preparation was a serious obstacle to world peace.
In November 1952, after the death of Weisman, the first president of Israel, the Israeli government asked him to serve as the second president, but he was rejected.
In March 1954, he was publicly denounced as an "enemy of the United States" by U.S. Senator McCarthy.
In 1955, Einstein and Russell jointly issued the "Russell-Einstein Declaration" opposing nuclear war and calling for world peace.
He died in the hospital at 1:25 on April 18, 1955. After the long and arduous exploration of the general theory of relativity, Einstein still felt dissatisfied and wanted to extend the general theory of relativity to include not only the gravitational field, but also the electromagnetic field. He believed that this was the third stage in the development of relativity, that is, unified field theory.