German-born American physicist,Albert Einstein (1879-1955) is known worldwide for his theory of relativity and his famous equation E =mc2. But beyond these revolutionary works, which are at the origin of contemporary physics, Einstein's marginal personality and his political commitments made him a mythical figure of the 20th century. Yet at the origin of nuclear physics, he will fight until his death against the proliferation of atomic weapons. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922.
Biography of Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Germany. His father Paul, an engineer, will notably be the founder of a company producing electrical equipment using direct current. Although of Jewish origin, Einstein joined a Catholic school. He stands out as a shy student (due to speech problems) but gifted with great abilities for mathematics. Continuing his studies in Switzerland (he obtained Swiss nationality in 1901) and in particular at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, he developed a real passion for physics.
Largely self-taught and showing little motivation for school routine, he led a precarious existence at the turn of the century. Married to his former comrade and Serbian collaborator Mileva Marić (with whom he will have 3 children), Einstein ends up finding a job at the Bern Patent Office. His salary finally allows him to deepen his work and publish his thesis in 1906. At the origin of Brownian motion, he will be the first to give an explanation to the photoelectric effect by hypothesizing that light is made up of grains of energy (photons).
The theory of relativity
Einstein's theories relate both to the nature of the particles (especially light) but also on universal mechanics , which earned him a gradual break with Newtonian physics. As early as 1905, he was the author of the special theory of relativity , which revolutionizes theoretical physics. The English astrophysicist Arthur Eddington will help popularize and refine this theory of relativity.
The innovative theses and famous formulas of the Swiss physicist ended up winning the support of the greatest scholars of the time, like Max Planck who will invite him to teach in Berlin. It was during his stay in Germany during the Great War that Einstein developed his theory of relativity, which is known as general relativity. This theory, confirmed by an experiment as early as 1919, opens up new perspectives for physicists and questions the foundations of the relationship between man and the universe, revising the physical notions of space and time. In the process, he established the equivalence of mass and energy (E=mc²) and received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922.
Einstein's work will be taken up by another famous physicist, Stephen Hawking, who will seek to unify the theory of general relativity and quantum theory to demonstrate that the Big Bang is at the origin of the creation of the universe.
Einstein:physicist and humanist
A recognized intellectual figure, Einstein also made a name for himself in pacifist circles and even became President of the League of Human Rights in 1925. His opinions and his Jewish origins earned him the hostility of the Nazi movement and he was forced to leave Germany for the United States in 1933.
A professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, he continues his research aimed at developing a theory unifying gravitation and electromagnetism . Aware of the possible military applications of his work on relativity and the atom, he signs a letter to President Roosevelt in 1939, alerting him to the possibility for the Nazi Reich to acquire the atomic bomb. This intervention will contribute to the launch of the Manhattan Project , which will allow the United States to develop the first atomic weapon. It will be a weight on the conscience of Einstein, who will later militate against the development of nuclear weapons.
Became American citizen in 1940 , Einstein will constitute in the last years of his life a leading scientific and moral reference, which will even earn him to be offered the position of President of Israel in 1952. The physicist lucid about his own abilities will refuse, admitting to having more harder to unravel the mysteries of human behavior than those of the Universe. Three years later on April 18, 1955 in Princeton, he will be struck down by a ruptured aneurysm and his brain will be removed for science and against his last wishes.
Bibliography of Albert Einstein
- Einstein:The Joy of Thought by Balibar Françoise. Gallimard, 1993.
- How I see the world of Albert Einstein. Fields Sciences, 2009.
- Albert Einstein's relativity. Payot, 1990.
To go further
- Albert Einstein's public records.