Albert Einstein And The Theory Of Relativity

Essay, Research Paper

Albert Einstein was known for The Theory of Relativity (E = mc^2) which in based on twoprinciples:I. Principle of Special Relativity- All inertial observers are equivalent.II. Constancy of Velocity of light- The velocity of light is the same in all inertial systems. Albert Einstein was born on March 14th in Ulm, Germany. His mother was shocked to find out that he had a very big head. In the years to come she found out he had a big head because he knew more than the average person did, his big head held all the information. Einstein started to talk late and also didn t do too well in school. He waited until he started talking full sentences before he said any words. He had a private tutor and when she came the first time he threw a chair at her. He started school when he was six years old. When he was 12 years old he was given a geometry book which played a big part of his life. He was unable to get into Swiss Federal Polytechnic Zurich. He went back to High School to receive a diploma. He applied to the college again and he was accepted because he received the other diploma. He entered Polytechnic in the autumn of 1896. He preferred to study by himself ratherthan attend classes. He got into trouble because he didn t complete much of his work. After graduating Polytechnic, he was unemployed and had several failed applications for positions at universities. After several short positions as a school teacher with the help of a family friend, he was employed in 1902 by the Swiss Patent Office in Berne, Germany. During the period he worked at the Patent Office, Einstein wrote many papers featuring several concerning the Photon Theory of Light, Brownian Motion, and most importntly The Theory of Relativity, (E = mc^2).

In 1915 Einstein published his paper explaining the Theory of Relativity in the publication entitled The General Theory of Relativity , which explained his theory of gravity. In this theory he explains his statement regarding Equivalence, whereby it is impossible to decide whether the force acting on a body is caused by the body accelerating, or whether it is gravity. In 1920 his theory was put to test during a solar eclipse. Stars very close to the line of sight of the sun would appear to shift in position. The shift would occur because of curvature in spacetime slightly bending the light from the stars and this would be observed with light passing near the sun. The more they appeared to shift in place, they also moved the way Einstein had predicted they would. Einstein become world famous overnight. He went on to win the Noble Prize for Physics in 1921. Twelve years later Einstein left Germany because of the Nazi take over. He moved to England for a short period of time, and then on to America. In 1939 when the war was really bad, he wrote his now famous letter to the president warning him that the Nazi s could produce a atomic bomb. The result of this letter resulted in the Manhattan Project. The best sciencests and engineers produced the first atomic bomb. Einstein was not a part of this project. The American Navy hired him as a technical consultant. During the last 30 years of his life he devoted his time to finding a Unified Theory of Gravity . He died on April 18th, 1955