by Anisur Rahman
Three ages of Einstein
Albert
Einstein, the iconic physicist of the twentieth century, was born at a time
when prevailing physical science was deemed inadequate and incapable of
explaining emerging scientific evidence and, worst of all, there was nothing in
the horizon to replace it. The scientific establishment of the day was complacent
with this impasse. When Max Planck, the future pioneer of quantum concept, approached
his professor in Munich in 1879 at the age of 21 and expressed his desire to
pursue a career in physics, he was told by the patronising professor that ‘it
is hardly worth entering physics anymore’ because there was nothing important
left to discover!
Albert
Einstein, an Ashkenazi Jew (secular in religious outlook), was born on Friday,
14 March 1879 in the historic city of Ulm, Kingdom of Wurttemberg, in the then
German Empire. His father, being an engineer and a salesman, gave little Einstein
every encouragement and adequate technical backing to pursue a technical
career. He was very inquisitive and tenacious. Nothing he would consider as
unattainable. As a child he wondered if he could ride on a beam of light! He
said about himself years later, "God gave me the stubbornness of a mule."
As
a child he was not a prodigy by any means. As a strong headed boy, he intensely
disliked strict disciplinarian life, either at school or at home. But he would pursue
his curiosity, his objective with passion and energy. Years later, he said, “Learn
from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not
to stop questioning.”
At
the age of nine, when he was sent by his parents to Luitpold Gymnasium (a
strict discipline focussed school) in Munich, he was not happy at all. He
intensely disliked ‘rote learning’ method at the school with no opportunity for
creative thinking. However, he pursued his studies there until the age 16
(1895) to keep parents happy. But then to avoid compulsory military service in
Germany, he left the school, went to his parents in Italy at the end of 1895.
After spending few months with his parents in Italy, he was persuaded by his
parents to continue with his secondary education in science at a Cantonal
school in Zurich, Switzerland. He renounced his German citizenship in 1896, so
that he would never be called for military service in Germany. He completed his
studies and then graduated with a teaching diploma in physics and mathematics in
1900. All these years, from 1895 to 1900, he was stateless. He acquired Swiss
citizenship in 1901 after completing five years of residence there.
Aspiring
to take up a career in physics, particularly at a university, at that time was
not easy. He scaled down his ambition and for nearly two years, he even tried
to get a school teaching post, but without success. Eventually on the
recommendation of the father of his close friend, he managed to get a humble position
at the Swiss Patent Office in Bern, capital of Switzerland, in 1902 as a ‘Technical
Expert – Third Class.’ Although the position was lowly, but the salary was
quite handsome. This job, according to him, brought an end to ‘the annoying
business of starving.’
He
moved to Bern in 1902 and lived there until 1907. Initially, as a bachelor, he
rented a room beyond the river Aare, which meanders across the capital city of Bern.
After he got married in 1903, he rented a two-bedroom apartment on the second
floor of 49 Kramgasse at the picturesque Old Town part of Bern. The cobbled
street of Kramgasse, with the famous clock tower on one side and the river
Aare, some three hundred meters away (about two hundred meters from 49 Kramgasse)
on the other, was one of the most beautiful streets in Bern. At the end of Kramgasse,
a historic bridge led to the other side of the river. From the street level, a
series of steps, some 200 of them, led to the river banks. Einstein used to sit
and contemplate by the river in summer evenings as the rippling sound of
crystal clear water cascaded down the shallow river.
Einstein
used to leave his apartment just before eight o’clock in the morning for a 10-minute
walk to the imposing Patent Office building. He said later in his life that his
work as a Patent Clerk was only for 48 hour a week, and he had one additional day
to spare! At work he had to look at the design details of electrical devices submitted
by budding inventors. This required him to scrutinise details and identify any possible
flaws. These traits and critical thinking honed his talent for future research
in physics.
What
inspired Einstein to write his first ground breaking paper in 1905 advancing
the proposal on the quantum theory of light was Max Planck’s paper detailing
the solution of the blackbody problem with an outline of hitherto unheard of quantum
concept of emission and absorption of light a few years back. Einstein read the
paper and was completely overwhelmed by this radical concept of Max Planck.
Einstein carried forward that quantum idea and produced a paper on photoelectric
effects of light with the title 'On a Heuristic Point of View Concerning the
Production and Transformation of Light' for the journal ‘Annalen der Physik,’ world’s
leading physics journal in Germany, and posted it on 17 March 1905. Max Planck happened
to be the adviser on theoretical physics to that journal at that time. Despite Planck’s
reservation with Einstein’s mind-boggling concept of particulate nature of
light, sweeping away age-old concept of wave nature of light, he allowed the
paper to be published simply because of its radical nature.
Einstein
produced altogether four papers between this date of 17 of March and 30 of
July,1905. The second one was from his Ph.D. dissertation where he set out a
way of determining the sizes of atoms. The third one was the explanation of
Brownian motion of atoms and molecules. The fourth one was, as Einstein himself
admitted, a rough draft on 'On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies' giving
details of the concepts of space and time. Max Planck read all of these papers,
but when he read the last paper, he was simply blown away. Although Einstein
did not call it ‘the theory of relativity,’ Max Planck called it so and the
title stuck with it ever since.
Before
the year was over, Einstein produced another paper, which contained a small
equation, E = mc2 (actually the equation was E= mc2/(√(1-q2/c2)
where q was the speed of the body and c was the speed of light. If q was much
smaller than c, then the term inside the square root became very close to 1 and
hence E = mc2). This equation came to be known as the mass-energy
equivalence with which Einstein became synonymous. Also, during the same year, he reviewed as
many as 21 technical books for this Annalen der Physik journal!
No
other scientist, except Isaac Newton, had ever produced as many ground breaking
monumental papers in such quick succession as Einstein did in 1905. He was only
26 at that time. Isaac Newton, an Englishman, at the age of 23 produced the
gravitational law and advanced the theory of light, all in 1666! Oh, he also laid
the foundation for calculus in the same year! It is amazing to note that these
two prodigal physicists dealt with the same physical problems - theory of
gravity and theory of light – with incredible ingenuity.
Einstein
received Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for his work on photoelectric effects
of light. His work on special theory of relativity (followed by general theory
of relativity in 1916) could also have warranted another Nobel Prize, but the
concept was so profound and radical that even the Nobel Committee found it challenging
without any supporting evidence! His mass-energy equivalence could have been
another candidate for Nobel Prize. He laid foundations of two major planks of
modern physics - quantum mechanics and theory of relativity, all in a single year
of 1905!
Dr Anisur Rahman
Dr Anisur Rahman; CRadP, MSRP, FNucl; is now a retired nuclear physicist / nuclear safety specialist. He is the author of a graduate/post-graduate text book entitled 'Decommissioning and Radioactive Waste Management.' He lives in the UK.
Editor's Note:
Vision Creates Value is delighted to publish this featured article with permission.
Received: 20180213. Edited and Published: 20180213.
Last Updated: 20180216.
Biggani.org Link:
http://biggani.org/?p=5225
Original Publication Reference Link:
https://provakar.net/2018/02/12/einsteins-incredible-burst-of-creativity-in-1905/
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