Eργασία Aγγλικών Einstein-01

ESSAY IN ENGLISH

«THE MYSTERY PERSON»

NICK MORAITIS

1ο ΓΥΜΝΑΣΙΟ ΑΡΤΕΜΙΔΑΣΣχολικό Έτος: 2013-2014

Τμήμα: Α2

Who is the Mystery Person?

Clue 1: He was a theoretical physicist, who was born the 14th March 1879 at Ulm in Germany and he died at Princeton of New Jersey (US) the 18th April 1955.

Clue 2: In 1921 he won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to theoretical physics and because he managed to explain the photoelectrical effect.

Clue 3: He was based on the elliptical geometry of Bernhard Riemann to establish the theory of relativity.

Clue 4: He proposed the chair of the newly established State of Israel, but he declined for several reasons.

Who is the Mystery Person?

Any Idea?

The Mystery Person is…

1. Biography of Albert Einstein

Date of Birth: March 14, 1879. Place of Birth: Ulm, Wurttemberg, Germany. As a child, Einstein revealed an extraordinary

curiosity for understanding the mysteries of science.

A typical child (only to his socio-economic class — educated middle class), Einstein took music lessons, playing both the violin and piano — a passion that followed him into adulthood.

He graduated from high-school in 1896. Einstein called the book Euclid’s Elements the "holy

little geometry book". He was right-handed. There appears to be no

evidence for the widespread popular belief that he was left-handed.

Picture 1: Einstein at the age of three in 1882


His father intended for him to pursue electrical engineering, but Einstein clashed with authorities and resented the school's regimen and teaching method.

In 1895, at the age of sixteen, Einstein sat the entrance examinations for the Swiss Federal Polytechnic in Zurich.

He failed to reach the required standard in the general part of the examination, but obtained exceptional grades in physics and mathematics.

In 1896 he completed his secondary schooling at the Aargau Cantonal School in Switzerland. Picture 2: Albert Einstein in 1893 (age 14)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Albert_Einstein_as_a_child.jpg


It is believed that he was a weak student. Obviously this is a misunderstanding, as his final grades, as shown at the next photo of his matriculation certificate at the age of 17, from the Aargau Cantonal School, were ranging from 4 to 6, on a scale of 1-6, with 6 being the best mark.

In September 1896, he passed the Swiss Matura with mostly good grades, including a top grade of 6 in physics and mathematical subjects, on a scale of 1-6, and, though only seventeen, enrolled in the four-year mathematics and physics teaching diploma program at the Zürich Polytechnic.

Picture 3: Einstein's matriculation certificate at the age of 17, showing his final grades from the Aargau Kantonsschule (on a scale of 1-6, with 6 being the best mark)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Albert_Einstein's_exam_of_maturity_grades_(color2).jpg


After graduating, in 1900, took Swiss nationality, worked for two months as a mathematics teacher and in 1902 was hired as an examiner in the Swiss patent office in Bern.

Much of his work at the patent office related to questions about transmission of electric signals and electrical-mechanical synchronization of time, two technical problems that show up conspicuously in the thought experiments that eventually led Einstein to his radical conclusions about the nature of light and the fundamental connection between space and time.

With a few friends he had met in Bern, Einstein started a small discussion group, self-mockingly named “The Olympia Academy”, which met regularly to discuss science and philosophy. Their readings included the works of Henry Poincare, Ernst Mach and David Hume, which influenced his scientific and philosophical outlook.


In 1905, while working in Bern, Switzerland, Einstein had what came to be known as his “Annus Mirabilis” — or “miracle year”. It was during this time that the young physicist obtained his Doctorate degree and published four of his most influential research papers, including the Special Theory of Relativity. In that, the now world famous equation "Ε = Μ•C2" unlocked mysteries of the Universe theretofore unknown.

In 1908 he was appointed Privatdozent in Berne. In 1909 he became Professor Extraordinary at Zurich, in 1911 Professor of Theoretical Physics at Prague, returning to Zurich in the following year to fill a similar post. In 1914 he was appointed Director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Physical Institute and Professor in the University of Berlin.

Picture 4: Albert Einstein in 1904

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Einstein_patentoffice.jpg


In 1915, Einstein completed his General Theory of Relativity and in 1921 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics (iconic status cemented in 1919 when Arthur Eddington’s expedition confirmed Albert Einstein’s prediction). It also launched him to international superstardom and his name became a household word synonymous with genius all over the world.

He became a German citizen in 1914 and remained in Berlin until 1933. In February 1933 while on a visit to the United States, Einstein decided not to return to Germany due to the rise to power of the Nazis. When he renounced his citizenship for political reasons and emigrated to America to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at Princeton.

Picture 5: Einstein's official 1921 portrait after receiving the Nobel Prize in Physics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Albert_Einstein_(Nobel).png


He became a United States citizen in 1940 and retired from his post in 1945.

After World War II, Einstein was a leading figure in the World Government Movement, he was offered the Presidency of the State of Israel in 1952, which he declined for various reasons, and he collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in establishing the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

On 17 April 1955, Albert Einstein experienced internal bleeding caused by the rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Einstein refused surgery, saying: "I want to go when I want. It is tasteless to prolong life artificially. I have done my share, it is time to go. I will do it elegantly."

He died in Princeton Hospital on 18 April 1955, at the age of 76, having continued to work until near the end.

Picture 6: Einstein in New York, 1921, his first visit to the US

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Einstein_in_NY_1921.jpg


During the autopsy, the pathologist of Princeton Hospital. Thomas Harvey, removed Einstein’s brain for preservation without the permission of his family, in the hope that the neuroscience of the future would be able to discover what made Einstein so intelligent.

Einstein's remains were cremated and his ashes were scattered at an undisclosed location.

In his lecture at Einstein's memorial, nuclear physicist Robert Oppenheimer summarized his impression of him as a person: “He was almost wholly without sophistication and wholly without worldliness ... There was always with him a wonderful purity at once childlike and profoundly stubborn”.

Picture 7: American newspaper announcing Einstein's death in 1955

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Death_headline.jpg

2. Personal Life

In 1903 he married his fellow student Mileva Maric, by which he had two children, Hans Albert and Edward, and had acquired the same and a daughter, Lizerl, that her fate is missing.

In 1919, after his divorce with Mileva, he married his cousin, Elsa. It should be noted that Albert Einstein had promised his first wife, Mileva Maric ,that if she give him the divorce would give her the money would ensure the Nobel Prize, to be used for this and for the upbringing of their children.

Picture 8: Einstein with his first wife Mileva and his first son

Picture 9: Einstein with his second wife, his cousin Elsa

3. Political and Religious Believes

Einstein's political view was in favor of socialism and critical of capitalism, which he detailed in his essays such as “Why Socialism?”.

Einstein offered to and was called on to give judgments and opinions on matters often unrelated to theoretical physics or mathematics.

Einstein's views about religious belief have been collected from interviews and original writings.

He called himself an agnostic, while disassociating himself from the label atheist. He said he believed in the “pantheistic” God of Baruch Spinoza, but not in a personal god, a belief he criticized.

4. Scientific Career

Einstein always appeared to have a clear view of the problems of physics and the determination to solve them. He had a strategy of his own and was able to visualize the main stages on the way to his goal. He regarded his major achievements as mere stepping-stones for the next advance.

At the start of his scientific work, Einstein realized the inadequacies of Newtonian mechanics and his special theory of relativity stemmed from an attempt to reconcile the laws of mechanics with the laws of the electromagnetic field. He dealt with classical problems of statistical mechanics and problems in which they were merged with quantum theory: this led to an explanation of the Brownian movement of molecules. He investigated the thermal properties of light with a low radiation density and his observations laid the foundation of the photon theory of light.


In his early days in Berlin, Einstein postulated that the correct interpretation of the special theory of relativity must also furnish a theory of gravitation and in 1916 he published his paper on the general theory of relativity. During this time he also contributed to the problems of the theory of radiation and statistical mechanics.

In the 1920's, Einstein embarked on the construction of unified field theories, although he continued to work on the probabilistic interpretation of quantum theory, and he persevered with this work in America.

He contributed to statistical mechanics by his development of the quantum theory of a monatomic gas and he has also accomplished valuable work in connection with atomic transition probabilities and relativistic cosmology.

Picture 10: Portrait taken in 1935 in Princeton


After his retirement he continued to work towards the unification of the basic concepts of physics, taking the opposite approach, geometrisation, to the majority of physicists.

Particular was the relationship linking the Greek mathematician Konstantinos Caratheodory with Albert Einstein. The two men he met in 1915 maintained a scientific relationship grounded in mutual respect.

Einstein's researches are, of course, well chronicled and his more important works include Special Theory of Relativity (1905), Relativity (English translations, 1920 and 1950), General Theory of Relativity (1916), Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926), and The Evolution of Physics (1938). Among his non-scientific works, About Zionism (1930), Why War? (1933), My Philosophy (1934), and Out of My Later Years (1950) are perhaps the most important.

Picture 11: The 1927 Solvay Conference in Brussels, a gathering of the world's top physicists - Einstein in the center

5. Notable Awards

Albert Einstein received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many European and American universities. During the 1920's he lectured in Europe, America and the Far East, and he was awarded Fellowships or Memberships of all the leading scientific academies throughout the world. He gained numerous awards in recognition of his work, such as: Nobel Prize in Physics (1921) Matteucci Medal (1921) Copley Medal (1925) Max Planck Medal (1929) Franklin Medal (1935) Time Person of the Century (1999)

6. General Information

Birth Name : Albert Einstein

Born : March 14, 1879Ulm, Wurttemberg, Germany

Died : April 18, 1955 (aged 76)Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.A.

Spouses : Mileva Maric (1903-1919)Elsa Einstein (1919-1936)

Children : Lieserl (1902-1903?)Hans Albert Einstein (1904-1973)Eduard Einstein (1910-1965)

Residence : Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, United States


Citizenship : Kingdom of Württemberg (1879–1896)Stateless (1896–1901)Switzerland (1901–1955)Austria–Hungary (1911–1912)German Empire (1914–1918)Weimar Republic (1919–1933)United States (1940–1955)


Field : Physics

Institutions : Swiss Patent Office (Bern)University of ZurichCharles University in PragueETH ZurichCaltech Prussian Academy of SciencesKaiser Wilhelm InstituteUniversity of LeidenInstitute for Advanced Study

Thesis : Folgerungen aus den Capillaritatserscheinungen (1901)

Doctoral Advisor : Alfred Kleiner


Known for : General relativity and special relativityPhotoelectric effectMass-energy equivalenceTheory of relativity

Notable Awards :

Nobel Prize in Physics (1921)

Matteucci Medal (1921)

Copley Medal (1925)

Max Planck Medal (1929)

Franklin Medal (1935)

Time Person of the Century (1999)

Signature :

7. Albert Einstein’s Quotes

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.

The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits. When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you

sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity. A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love. Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not

giving the kiss the attention it deserves.


Imagination is more important than knowledge. Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned

in school. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into

lazy habits of thinking. Before God we are all equally wise - and equally foolish. If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts. Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere. Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind. Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious. When the solution is simple, God is answering.


Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.

It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.

The only source of knowledge is experience. All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need

to be happy?

“If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music... I get most joy in life out of music.”

Albert Einstein

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

NICK MORAITIS

28/04/2014

SOURCES•http://einstein.biz/index.php•http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/einstein-bio.html•http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein•http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/albert_einstein.html•http://physiclessons.blogspot.gr/2011/10/blog-post_2009.html