Nobel Prize of Einstein for the theory of photoelectric effect

In the history of world science it is difficult to find a scientist of the same scale as Albert Einstein. However, his path to fame and universal acceptance was not easy. Suffice it to say that Albert Einstein won the Nobel Prize only after he was unsuccessfully nominated for it more than 10 times.

Brief biographical note

Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879 in the German city of Ulm in a Jewish family of medium means. His father initially engaged in the production of mattresses, and after moving to Munich opened a firm that traded electrical equipment.

At the age of 7, Albert was sent to a Catholic school, and then to a gymnasium, which today bears the name of a great scientist. According to the recollections of classmates and teachers, he did not show much zeal for studies and had high marks only in mathematics and Latin. In 1896, Einstein entered the pedagogical faculty at the Zurich Polytechnic from the second attempt, since he wanted to work as a physics teacher later. There he devoted much time to the study of Maxwell's electromagnetic theory. Although it was already impossible to ignore Einstein's outstanding ability, by the time the diploma was received, none of the teachers wanted to see him as their assistant. Subsequently, the scientist noted that at the Zurich Polytechnic he was obstructed and treated for an independent character.

The beginning of the path to world fame

After graduation, Albert Einstein for a long time could not find a job and even starved. Nevertheless, it was during this period that he wrote and published his first work.

In 1902, the future great scientist began to work at the Patent Office. Three years later he published 3 articles in the leading German journal "Annals of Physics", which were later recognized as harbingers of the scientific revolution. In them he laid out the foundations of the theory of relativity, the fundamental quantum theory, from which the Einstein's theory of the photoelectric effect later emerged, and his ideas on the statistical description of the Brownian motion.

Revolutionary ideas of Einstein's ideas

All three articles of the scientist, published in 1905 in the "Annals of Physics", became the subject of heated discussion among colleagues in the shop. The ideas he presented to the scientific community undoubtedly deserved to bring the Nobel Prize to Albert Einstein. However, they were not immediately recognized in academic circles. If some of the scientists unconditionally supported the colleague, then a fairly large group of physicists was found who, as experimenters, demanded to present the results of empirical studies.

Nobel Prize

Shortly before his death, the well-known arms tycoon Alfred Nobel wrote a will, according to which all his property was transferred to a special fund. This organization was supposed to conduct the selection of candidates and annually to award large monetary prizes to those "who brought the greatest benefits to humanity" by making a significant discovery in the field of physics, chemistry, as well as physiology or medicine. In addition, the awards were awarded to the creator of the most outstanding work in the field of literature, as well as for the contribution to the rallying of nations, the reduction in the strength of the armed forces and "the promotion of peaceful congresses."

In his will, Nobel insisted that, when nominating candidates, their nationality should not be taken into account, since he did not want his prize to be politicized.

For the first time the Nobel ceremony of rewarding took place in 1901. Over the next decade, such outstanding physicists as laureates have already become laureates:

• Wilhelm X-ray ;
• Hendrik Lorenz;
• Peter Zeeman;
• Antoine Becquerel;
• Pierre Curie;
• Marie Curie;
• John William Strett;
• Philippe Lenard;
• Joseph John Thomson;
• Albert Abraham Michelson;
• Gabriel Lippman;
• Guglielmo Marconi;
• Carl Brown.

Albert Einstein and the Nobel Prize: the first nomination

For the first time a great scientist was nominated for this award in 1910. His "godfather" was Nobel Prize winner in the field of chemistry Wilhelm Ostwald. Interestingly, 9 years before this event, the latter refused to take Einstein to work. In his presentation, he stressed that the theory of relativity is deeply scientific and physical, and not just philosophical reasoning, as Einstein's detractors tried to present it. In subsequent years, Ostwald repeatedly defended this view, re-nominating him for several years.

The Nobel Committee rejected the candidacy of Einstein, with the formulation that the theory of relativity does not exactly correspond to any of these criteria. In particular, it was noted that we should wait for its more explicit experimental confirmation.

Whatever it was, in 1910 the prize was awarded to Jan Van der Waals, for the derivation of the equation of state of gases and liquids.

Advances in subsequent years

During the next 10 years, Albert Einstein was nominated for the Nobel Prize almost every year, with the exception of 1911 and 1915. At the same time, the theory of relativity was always indicated as a work that was worthy of such a prestigious award. It was this circumstance that caused even contemporaries to doubt how many Nobel Prizes Einstein received.

Unfortunately, 3 out of 5 members of the Nobel Committee were from the Swedish University of Uppsala, known for its powerful scientific school, whose representatives have made great strides in improving measuring instruments and experimental equipment. They were extremely suspicious of pure theorists. Their "victim" was not only Einstein alone. The Nobel Prize was never awarded to the outstanding scientist Henri Poincare, and Max Planck received it in 1919 after much discussion.

Solar eclipse

As already mentioned, most physicists demanded an experimental confirmation of the theory of relativity. However, at that time it was not possible to do this. The sun helped. The point is that in order to be convinced of the correctness of Einstein's theory it was required to predict the behavior of an object with a huge mass. For these purposes the sun was the best suited. It was decided to find out the position of the stars during the solar eclipse, which was to occur in November 1919, and compare them with the "usual". The results had to confirm or disprove the presence of space-time distortion, which is a consequence of the theory of relativity.

There were organized expeditions to the island Princip and to the tropics of Brazil. Measurements made within 6 minutes, while the eclipse lasted, were studied by Eddington. As a result, the Newtonian classical theory of inertial space was defeated and replaced by Einstein's.

Confession

1919 was the time of Einstein's triumph. Even Lorenz, who had previously been skeptical of his ideas, acknowledged their value. Simultaneously with Niels Bohr and 6 other scientists who had the right to nominate colleagues for the Nobel Prize, he spoke in support of Albert Einstein.

However, politics interfered in the matter. Although it was clear to everyone, the most deserved candidate was Einstein, the Nobel Prize in Physics for 1920 was awarded to Charles Edouard Guillaume for studying the anomalies in nickel and steel alloys.

Nevertheless, the controversy continued, and it was obvious that the world public would not understand if the scientist was left without a well-deserved reward.

The Nobel Prize and Einstein

In 1921, the number of scientists who proposed the candidacy of the creator of the theory of relativity reached its apogee. For Einstein expressed 14 people who officially had the right to nominate applicants. One of the most authoritative members of the Royal Society of Sweden Eddington in his letter even compared him to Newton and indicated that he surpasses all his contemporaries.

Nevertheless, the Nobel Committee instructed to deliver a report on the value of the theory of relativity to the laureate in medicine for 1911, Alvar Gulstrand. This scientist, being a professor of ophthalmology at Uppsala University, sharply and illiterately criticized Einstein. In particular, he argued that the bending of a light beam can not be considered a true test of the theory of Albert Einstein. He also called for not to consider as evidence the observations made about the orbits of Mercury. In addition, he was particularly outraged by the fact that the length of the measuring ruler can vary depending on whether the observer is moving or not, and at what speed he does it.

As a result, the Nobel Prize was not awarded to Einstein in 1921, and it was decided not to reward anyone.

1922

Save the face of the Nobel Committee helped theoretical physicist Karl Wilhelm Oseen from the University of Uppsala. He proceeded from the fact that it does not matter at all, for which Einstein will receive the Nobel Prize. In this regard, he proposed to award it "for the discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect."

Ozen also advised the members of the committee that during the 22nd ceremony not only Einstein was awarded. The Nobel Prize in the year preceding 1921 was not awarded, therefore it became possible to celebrate the merits of two scientists. The second winner was Niels Bohr.

Einstein missed the official ceremony of awarding the Nobel Prize. His speech he said later, and she was devoted to the theory of relativity.

Now you know why Einstein received the Nobel Prize. Time has shown the significance of the discoveries of this scientist for world science. Even if the Nobel Prize had not been awarded to Einstein, he would still have entered the annals of world history as a man who changed the ideas of mankind about space and time.