A short biography of Albert Einstein. Interesting facts about Einstein. Discoveries of Einstein

The name of this scientist is familiar to everyone. And if his achievements are an integral part of the school curriculum, the biography of Albert Einstein remains beyond its scope. This is the greatest scientist. His work determined the development of modern physics. In addition, Albert Einstein was a very interesting person. A brief biography will acquaint you with the achievements, the main milestones of life's path and some interesting facts about this scientist.

Childhood

The years of genius's life are 1879-1955. Biography of Albert Einstein begins March 14, 1879. It was then that he was born in the city of Ulm (Germany). His father was a poor Jewish merchant. He kept a small electrical workshop.

It is known that up to three years Albert did not speak, but showed extraordinary curiosity already in the early years. The future scientist was interested in knowing how the world works. In addition, from a young age he showed an ability for mathematics, he could understand abstract ideas. At the age of 12 he studied the Euclidean geometry himself, according to books, Albert Einstein.

Biography for children, we believe, must necessarily include one curious fact about Alberta. It is known that the famous scientist in his childhood was not a child prodigy. Moreover, others doubted its usefulness. Einstein's mother suspected the presence of an inborn ugliness in the child (the fact that he had a big head). The future genius in the school proved to be slow, lazy, withdrawn. Everyone laughed at him. Teachers believed that he was practically incapable of anything. It will be very useful for schoolchildren to learn how difficult was the childhood of such a great scientist as Albert Einstein. A brief biography for children should be not just a listing of facts, but also teach something. In this case, tolerance, faith in oneself. If your child is desperate and finds himself unable to do anything, just tell him about Einstein's childhood. He did not give up, he kept faith in himself, as evidenced by the further biography of Albert Einstein. The scientist has proved that he is capable of much.

Moving to Italy

The young scientist was repelled by boredom and regimentation at the Munich school. In 1894, due to business failures, the family was forced to leave Germany. The Einsteins went to Italy, to Milan. Albert, who was at this time 15 years old, took advantage of the opportunity to drop out of school. He spent another year with his parents in Milan. However, it soon became clear that Albert must decide in life. After graduating from high school in Switzerland (in Arrau), the biography of Albert Einstein continues his studies at the Zurich Polytechnic.

Training in the Zurich Polytechnic

Methods of teaching in polytechnics did not suit him. The young man often missed lectures, devoting his spare time to studying physics, as well as playing the violin, which was Einstein's favorite instrument throughout his life. Albert in 1900 was able to pass the exams (he was prepared according to the student's notes). So Einstein received a degree. It is known that the professors had a very low opinion of the graduate and did not recommend him a further scientific career.

Work in the Patent Office

After receiving the diploma, the future scientist began to work in the patent office as an expert. Since the evaluation of technical characteristics was usually about 10 minutes for a young specialist, he had a lot of free time. Thanks to this, Albert Einstein began to develop his own theories. A brief biography and his discoveries soon became known to many.

Three important works of Einstein

1905 became significant in the development of physics. It was then that Einstein published important works that played an outstanding role in the history of this science in the twentieth century. The first of the articles was devoted to the Brownian movement. The scientist made important predictions about the motion of particles suspended in a liquid. This movement, he noted, is due to a collision of molecules. Later, the scientist's predictions were confirmed by experience.

Albert Einstein, whose brief biography and discoveries are just beginning, soon published a second work on the photoelectric effect this time. Albert hypothesized the nature of light, which was nothing but revolutionary. The scientist suggested that under certain circumstances it is possible to consider light as a stream of photons - particles whose energy corresponds to the frequency of the light wave. Almost all physicists immediately agreed with the idea of Einstein. However, in order to make the theory of photons recognized in quantum mechanics, it took 20 years of intensive efforts of theorists and experimenters. But Einstein's most revolutionary work was the third, "To the electrodynamics of moving bodies." In it, the ideas of WHAT (the special theory of relativity), Albert Einstein, were unusually clear. A brief biography of the scientist continues with a short story about this theory.

The special theory of relativity

She destroyed the notions of time and space that existed in science since the time of Newton. A. Poincare and GA Lorentz created a number of provisions of the new theory, but only Einstein could clearly formulate in the physical language its postulates. This concerns, first of all, the principle of relativity, as well as the presence of a limit of the speed of propagation of the signal. And today one can meet statements that supposedly before Einstein the theory of relativity was created. However, this is not true, since in the formulas (many of which actually derived Poincare and Lorentz) are important not so much as the correct bases from the point of view of physics. It is from these that these formulas follow. Only Albert Einstein was able to reveal the theory of relativity in terms of physical content.

Einstein's view on the structure of theories

At first, the perception of Albert's works was ambiguous. Many representatives of the scientific community simply did not understand them. This situation is due to Albert Einstein's specific views on the structure of theories, as well as the relationship between them and experiments. Einstein recognized that experience is the only source of knowledge. However, he was convinced that theories in science are creations of man's intuition, so the grounds on which a good theory is built do not necessarily have to be logically related to experiment and experience. According to Einstein, the ideal theory should be based on the minimum number of postulates and at the same time cover the greatest number of phenomena. Because of "stinginess" on the postulates of the work of Albert Einstein were hard to reach for colleagues. Nevertheless, a number of outstanding physicists supported the discoveries of the young scientist. Especially among them is Max Planck. This scientist helped Albert to move from Zurich first to Prague, and then to Berlin, where he took the post of director of the local Institute of Physics Kaiser Wilhelm.

General Relativity (GTR)

Albert Einstein from 1907 to 1915 worked on a new theory of gravitation, based on the principles of the theory of relativity. The winding and difficult was the path that led Albert to success. The main idea of general relativity constructed by him consists in the existence of an inseparable connection between the geometry of space-time and the gravitational field. Space-time in the presence of gravitating masses, according to Einstein, becomes non-Euclidean. He has a curvature, which is all the more intense in this region of space the gravitational field. Albert Einstein presented the final equations of general relativity in December 1915, during a meeting in Berlin of the Academy of Sciences. This theory is the pinnacle of Albert's creativity. She is, according to general opinion, one of the most beautiful in physics.

The 1919 Eclipse and its role in the fate of Einstein

The understanding of general relativity, however, did not come immediately. A few experts were interested in this theory for the first three years. It was understood only by some scientists. However, in 1919 the situation changed dramatically. Then direct observations made it possible to verify one of the paradoxical predictions of this theory - that a ray of light from a distant star is curved by the gravitational field of the Sun. The test can be carried out only with a total solar eclipse. In 1919, the phenomenon could be observed in those parts of the globe where it was good weather. Thanks to this, it became possible to make an accurate photograph of the position of the stars at the time of the eclipse. Equipped with the English astrophysicist Arthur Eddington, the expedition was able to obtain information that confirmed the assumption of Einstein. Albert literally in one day became a world-famous celebrity. The glory that struck him was enormous. For a long time, the theory of relativity has become the subject of debate. Articles about it were filled with newspapers all over the world. A lot of popular books were published, where the authors explained to the inhabitants of its essence.

Recognition of scientific circles, disputes between Einstein and Bohr

Finally, there was also recognition in the scientific community. Einstein in 1921 received the Nobel Prize (although for the theory of quanta, and not for GRT). He was elected an honorary member of a number of academies. Albert's opinion has become one of the most authoritative throughout the world. Einstein in the twenties traveled a lot around the world. He participated in international conferences held around the world. The role of this scientist was especially important in the discussions that unfolded in the late 1920s on questions of quantum mechanics.

Disputes and conversations of Einstein with Bohr on these issues have become famous. Einstein could not agree with the fact that in a number of cases quantum mechanics operates only with probabilities, and not with exact values of quantities. He was not satisfied with the fundamental non-determinism of the various laws of the microworld. Einstein's favorite expression was the phrase: "God does not play dice!". However, Albert in the disputes with Bohr, apparently, was not right. As you can see, geniuses are mistaken, including Albert Einstein. Biography and interesting facts about him are supplemented by the tragedy that this scientist suffered because of the fact that it is common for all to be mistaken.

The tragedy in the life of Einstein

The scientific activity of the founder of the UTO in the last 30 years of life, unfortunately, was unproductive. This was due to the fact that the scientist had set himself the task of a grandiose size. Albert intended to create a unified theory of all possible interactions. Such a theory, as is now clear, is possible only within the framework of quantum mechanics. In pre-war time, in addition, very little was known about the existence of other interactions, except for gravitational and electromagnetic. The titanic efforts of Albert Einstein therefore ended in nothing. Perhaps this was one of the greatest tragedies in his life.

The pursuit of beauty

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of the discoveries of Albert Einstein in science. Today almost every branch of modern physics is based on the fundamental concepts of the theory of relativity or quantum mechanics. Perhaps, no less important is the confidence that Einstein brought to scientists by his works. He showed that nature is knowable, showed the beauty of its laws. It was the desire for beauty that was the meaning of the life of such a great scientist as Albert Einstein. His biography is already coming to an end. It is a pity that one article can not cover the entire heritage of Albert. But how he made his discoveries, of course, is worth telling.

How Einstein created theories

Einstein had a peculiar way of thinking. The scientist distinguished ideas that seemed to him disharmonious or inelegant. At the same time, it was based mainly on aesthetic criteria. Then the scientist proclaimed a general principle restoring harmony. And then he made predictions about how these or other physical objects behave. Stunning results gave this approach. Albert Einstein trained the ability to see the problem from an unexpected perspective, to rise above it and find an unusual way out. When Einstein was at a dead end, he played the violin, and suddenly the solution popped up in his head.

Moving to the US, the last years of life

In 1933, the Nazis came to power in Germany. They burned all scientific work. Albert's family had to emigrate to the United States. Here, Einstein worked in Princeton, at the Institute for Basic Research. In 1940, the scientist renounced German citizenship and officially became a US citizen. Last years he spent in Princeton, he worked on his grandiose theory. Minutes of rest he devoted to skating on the lake by boat and playing the violin. April 18, 1955, died Albert Einstein.

Biography and discoveries of Albert are still being studied by many scientists. Some studies are very curious. In particular, Albert's brain after death was studied for genius, but did not find anything exceptional. This suggests that each of us can become like Albert Einstein. The biography, the summary of works and interesting facts about the scientist - all this inspires, is not it?